


I just need you to tell me we're alright. Tell me we're okay.

by litebrite21



Category: TharnType the Series (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Crying, Feelings Realization, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Polyamory, University, the boys just need a hug, this is set in the same time as season one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 32,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25585273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litebrite21/pseuds/litebrite21
Summary: “I really, really need to talk to you whenever you’re free,” Techno says, his normal cheery tone now laced with sorrow.“About what? Are you okay?” Tharn asks, obviously concerned. His voice is so warm and calm. He doesn’t even know. A rush of anxiety washes over Techno and he starts shaking a little.“Everything’s fine. I just need to tell you some things that I should tell you in person. Just wait until we can have a full conversation. I’ll explain everything then.”“Okay. I have band practice tomorrow, can we meet up after?”“That’s fine,” Techno mumbles, before he realizes something. “Can I ask you for a favor?”“Of course, what do you need?”“Don’t tell Type you’re seeing me. Just tell him you guys had a late practice. Please.”--Techno has three problems: One, he knows about Type’s childhood trauma. Two, he has feelings for Type. Who’s completely in love with Tharn. Both problems cause Techno to feel a lot of guilt. He needs to tell Tharn or he’s going to drive himself insane, which brings us to his third problem.How is Tharn going to take all of this?(Title is from the Twenty One Pilots song "Level of Concern")
Relationships: Tharn Thara Kirigun/Techno, Tharn Thara Kirigun/Type Thiwat Phawattakun, Tharn Thara Kirigun/Type Thiwat Phawattakun/Techno, Type Thiwat Phawattakun/Techno
Comments: 77
Kudos: 275





	1. Trauma

**Author's Note:**

> (SLIGHT TRIGGER WARNING FOR MENTIONED SEXUAL ASSAULT)  
> I didn't feel the need to put a warning for this in the tags because it's only mentioned.
> 
> Hello! I'm not sure when this will be updated and I'm not sure how many chapters it will be, but thank you for reading and I hope you stick around while I update this. Constructive criticism is appreciated. :)
> 
> Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: "Anyway" by Noah Kahan

“I hate Tharn!”

“Yeah?” Techno raises an eyebrow, half paying attention, half finishing a text to Champ to let him know they were outside. The two of them were sitting on the steps of the building waiting for him to be finished with his class. _Here we go again._

“I hate gay people. They’re disgusting. A man should be with a woman, that’s the way it’s always been,” Type says.

“Don’t you watch lesbian porn?”

“That’s not the same.”

“You’re kidding me,” Techno scoffs. “It’s _exactly_ the same, whether you like it or not. You’re not allowed to hate it when you get off on watching it happen.”

“But that’s fake. In real life, it’s wrong. Two men in a relationship? That doesn’t work.”

“Can you just shut up about it for once?”

“Why, are you one of them?”

“I’m not, but I don’t need to hear about it every time I see you,” Techno says, finally looking at his friend. He’s never really thought about it, actually. Judging by Type’s words, maybe that’s not something he should admit right now. But he’s starting to get annoyed with Type’s homophobic rants. “They’re not bad people, Type. They want to love others just like we do. It’s not a big deal. Your roommate is an amazing guy, no one cares who he’s fucking. You know who cares? You. Just you and no one else.”

“He doesn't need to rub it in my face,” he rolls his eyes. Techno puts his phone down and extends his arm towards the middle of campus where groups of students made their way to and from lectures, standing up and towering over his friend. He glares at Type. 

“Who’s rubbing it in your face?! He never even mentioned it to you, I was the one who told you about it! Just deal with it!” Techno exclaims, causing many of those students to turn their head and look at the two boys sitting on the concrete steps and give them a judgemental look. _I need to calm down._ Techno gives them a nervous smile and turns back to Type, ready to give a calmer argument, but doesn’t even open his mouth. Type looks pissed, but he looks like he’s at a loss for words, so he just looks down. _What was that about? Why isn’t he yelling at me?_

“Chill out,” Type mumbles, giving him the same look the crowd did. He sounds so small. Techno didn’t know he could look like that. It almost makes him feel bad for shouting at Type. Almost. “It’s just disturbing to me, okay? 

Techno rolls his eyes and sighs, putting his hands on his hips. He’s done talking about this. there’s no use in trying to convince Type otherwise, so he sits down next to him and stares out into the sea of students, some still looking in their direction. He feels irritated, but kind of wants to ruffle Type’s feathers a little more. Techno smirks to himself and looks at his crossed legs to hide it. 

“Speaking of, how’s your roommate?”

“Do you want to die?”

________

Type’s drama happened a few days after that incident. Tharn said he would take care of it and Techno was still kind of upset about that day, but he felt like he should check and make sure that he was okay. Going to the convenience store, he picked up a few snacks he knew Type liked. Techno knew that he wouldn’t act grateful, but he would probably appreciate that Techno thought of him. He also found a plushie. An angry tomato. Techno snorted, covering his mouth at the sound. He was absolutely going to buy this for Type. Why wouldn’t he? It was literally him. 

Techno finally made it to the dorms after a half an hour browsing the store for things to bring Type. He reaches the man’s room, about to knock, but he stops.  
  
“You can tell me.”

That’s Tharn.

A long pause. 

“When I was eleven, a scumbag did something to me.” 

Type.

Techno knows that it’s wrong to eavesdrop on them, but something’s wrong. Type doesn’t talk like that. He speaks. He gets his point across. He doesn’t care who hears. He doesn’t mumble. He doesn’t open up to anyone. He doesn’t show emotion. It’s not normal. He’s confused by the statement that came out of Type. What did that guy do to him?

Techno sets the bag down on the floor quietly, trying to keep the noise down to a minimum level. He places his hand on the door and puts his ear on it, trying to hear their conversation better. He’s also praying to every god he can think of, hoping that no one will come down the hallway to ask what he’s doing. He keeps listening. 

“He was a roofer at my dad’s resort. I saw him everyday. He told me that there was a football field nearby,” Type’s words are strained, like he’s about to cry. It makes Techno’s chest ache a little.

“I followed him,” Type continues, softly talking. Just barely enough that Techno can still hear his words. “Then he...touched me.”

 _Oh_.

Techno just breaks. He takes his hand off of the door and covers his mouth, silencing his sobs that would have been way too loud for the narrow hallway he’s currently sitting in. Tears start to fall down his face onto the floor, his forehead lightly bumping into the room’s door. He stiffens, hoping that they didn’t hear it. He starts to remember every time Type told him that he hated gay people. The rants, the arguments, the yelling and getting angry. Everything started to make a lot of sense. He didn’t want to, but he put his ear back on the door.

_God, Type. Is this why you hate them so much? Is this why you hate Tharn? No one’s trying to hurt you anymore, you’re safe with him._

“I was so tiny,” Types voice is even more strained than before. 

_Okay, nevermind. I can’t listen to anymore of this. I got the idea, I shouldn’t even know about it._

Techno pushes off of the door, sitting upright with his legs underneath him. He sniffles quietly and wipes his face, his other hand resting on the door. He looks at his hand.

 _Tharn,_ he thinks to himself. _This boy just opened up to you._ Type _opened up to you. That’s not something to take lightly. Please take care of him. I think you’re the only one that can do that right now._

He turns his head to look at the bag on the floor and quietly slides it closer to the door so they can get it later. 

Techno returns to his own home. He flops down on the couch and starts crying, unable to process the information that he just received. He can’t even go comfort Type because he doesn’t want anyone else other than Tharn to know. He thinks about it right up until he falls asleep right on the couch, his entire body aching and head pounding. 

When he returns to school the next day, he’s exhausted. His clothes are a mess, his shirt is barely tucked in, and he looks stressed. Type and Champ ask him about it, but he just shakes his head and goes back to the homework he’s been trying to do for 45 minutes. 

“Why won’t you tell us what’s wrong?” Type starts interrogating him. 

“There’s nothing wrong,” Techno says in a small voice.

“That’s bullshit,” Type says.

He looks up at Type. The normal Type. Not the one from last night. He just stares. The two of them make eye contact for a few seconds before Techno has to look down again. If not, he’ll cry in front of his friends and he’s not about to do that. He picks up his pencil, continuing his work.

_I’m so sorry. Maybe one day I can help you with this. I hope that Tharn can help you, buddy. You’re not a bad person like I thought you were._

Techno stops writing and stares blankly at the page. Then he looks up at Type again who’s on his phone. He actually looks relaxed, like he didn’t tell Tharn that story last night. Techno just looks at him.

_What should I do? How can I help you?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: cookys_eyebrows
> 
> IG: litebrite_21


	2. Sympathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: "Someone To Stay" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

Later that day, Type and Techno have a class together. Type actually listens to their lecture, Techno is somewhere else mentally, still with his head in a notebook. He starts to get frustrated with his work, still on the same sentence he was on when they were at lunch. He’s mostly just scribbling on the side of the page to keep his mind occupied, seeing Type taking his own notes.

Type keeps looking at Techno. Just small glances, like he’s checking on Techno and what he’s doing. It’s making him anxious. He would have skipped this class today, but he also didn’t want to leave Type’s side. He feels the need to protect him even though there’s no danger. 

All of a sudden, Type nudges him, causing him to jump in his chair a little, the teacher looking in his direction, but continuing her instruction. Techno mouths an apology to her and turns his head to look at the boy. Type points at his book with a bunch of blue clusters caused by the pen that’s still in his hand.

“What are you doing? I haven’t seen you do anything since we got here,” Type scolds him, trying to keep his voice down. “Don’t think I’ll let you copy my notes, you’re on your own.”

“Okay,” Techno whispers and turns back to his book. Type speaks again.

“That’s it? No smartass comment?” Type asks.

“Just leave me alone,” Techno pleads without even looking at his friend. “I won’t ask for your notes, I’m here because I have to be.”

_I want to make sure you’re safe._

Type continues to stare at him before going back to his notes silently. Techno is thankful that he finally left him alone. The teacher in front of them powers off the projector.

“Alright, we’re done for today,” she announces, placing the remote on her desk. “Remember to read over your notes this week, there will be an exam on Monday. Thank you, guys.”

The students around them start standing up and gathering their belongings, including Type. But Techno continues to sit at their shared table, staring off into space. The conversation keeps playing over and over in his mind, giving him unwanted mental images that make him feel physically ill. Type notices and pokes him with his pencil.

“Tech, class is over,” he says. No response.

_I don’t feel good._

Techno just puts his head down on the table, a soft thump is heard. The desk reminds him of Type’s dorm room door. It made the same noise when he bumped his head into it last night. Everything has made him super upset, but for some reason, that’s what pushed him over the edge. It felt like he was hearing about it all over again. His eyes burn with tears at the memory and he starts sniffling a little. Type immediately notices. 

“Techno,” Type’s voice is so, so soft. Comforting. He talks quietly, Techno assumes that he doesn’t want to alert their other classmates. It kind of makes him feel warm. He sits up, wiping his eyes discreetly. Type sits back down and it’s obvious that he doesn’t know how to help. Doesn’t know how to deal with a crying person. But in an attempt to soothe Techno, Type reaches out and moves a piece of hair out of his face. He starts crying again from the small action, leaning into Type’s touch and finally putting his hand over his eyes. 

Type’s hand drifts his hand down to Techno’s shoulder and he can’t believe that Type has to comfort him right now and that he’s being this gentle with him. He’s embarrassed that he let Type see him get so emotional like this, but he feels a little better knowing that Type’s trying to help him. His next thought makes him push Type’s hand off of him.

_You’re not the one that should be comforted, you should be helping Type. What are you doing?_

All of the students are gone, but the teacher is still at her desk. She sees the crying boy and his friend, so she walks up to them. Techno feels even more embarrassed. He hangs his head, trying to wipe tears off of his cheeks.

“Do you two want a minute in here? I can come back,” she asks with concern. Techno opens his mouth to tell her that they would leave, but is quickly interrupted by Type.

“Yes, please,” he politely tells her. She nods and walks out of the room, her heels clacking on the tile floor. Now it’s just the two of them, which is exactly what Techno didn’t want.

“You really need to tell me what’s going on,” Type in a low voice. “You know I’m here for you, right?”

Techno nods. He really didn’t think Type would ever offer to help him but he’s learning a lot of things this week.

“I can’t tell you,” Techno says, finally looking at Type, a sad smile on his face. He sobs a little. “I really can’t.”

“Why not?”

Techno pauses. He finally decides how to respond to it. 

“You know you can talk to me too, right?” Techno questions. Type blinks in confusion. 

“Why are you telling me that?"

“I just want you to know,” he responds, his voice still quiet. He wipes his face and calms himself down enough to stop crying. 

“Forget about it, we need to go,” Techno says, picking up his bag and standing up, looking at a baffled Type who just stares at him with concern. He motions toward the door. “Come on.”

“Sit down,” Type barks. Techno knows he’ll yell at him if he doesn’t and he can’t take that right now, so he sits, throwing his bag back on the floor. _Fuck it, he can’t be mad for very long if I tell him, right? I can’t keep it to myself for a long time. Not like this._ Techno puts his hand on Type’s knee. Type is obviously not comfortable with the touch, tense under Techno’s hand. But he doesn’t say anything.

“How can you just sit there?” Techno whimpers to Type.

“What do you mean?”

Techno takes a deep breath.

“Before you get mad and yell at me, just know that I’m worried,” Techno says. Type continues to look at him, so Techno continues talking.

“Last night, I wanted to go check on you, so I went and bought you some snacks and then went to your dorm,” Techno says, already starting to get choked up. He looks at Type. Type’s starting to understand where this is going, judging by his clenched jaw. Techno looks back down. “I heard talking, so I didn’t want to interrupt you. But you sounded so upset that I wanted to know what happened and make sure that you were okay-”

“You listened to our conversation?” At first, Techno thinks that Type is super pissed and he prepares himself for whatever insults that are about to come his way. But Techno sees tears in his eyes. His voice is shaking too and his facial expression is blank.

_He’s just scared, he’s not mad._

“Type-”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I’m-”

“I know you’re grossed out, but please don’t leave. You shouldn’t know, so please don’t tell anyone,” Type is starting to lose it, sobbing between words and rambling. It’s so heart-wrenching to look at him and hear him say that.

“Hey, no. Stop talking and listen to me,” Techno says, shaking his head. They’re both a mess, neither of them are able to pull themselves together. Techno debates it for a second, but he pulls his chair closer to him so that their knees touch. His hand goes up to Type’s head and pushes it so that he’ll rest on Techno’s shoulder, stroking his head. Type’s arms go around him immediately and he really lets go of everything, continuing to cry in his arms. _He didn’t push me away. He really needed this._ “You don’t need to be scared, okay? I told you I was worried. I want to help.”

“I’m okay, No. There’s nothing you can do,” Type can barely get his words out. “I just started having nightmares again, Tharn was checking on me and I finally told him about it. I hate people like him, I really do. But I think I can trust him.”

Techno hums. The two hold each other like this for a few minutes until they both stop crying. Techno pulls away, looking at his friend. Type’s eyes are red and he looks so tired. The sight kills him inside. Type doesn’t even try to hold himself up, he collapses right back into Techno’s arms. He’s more than happy to hug him back.

“Tharn’s not a bad guy,” Techno whispers, rubbing Type’s back. “That guy is really going to take care of you, Type. He will never, ever try to hurt you. Just trust him. He was right there for you when you were sick and you trusted him enough to tell him about your past. You have nothing to be afraid of when you’re with him.”

Type nods. His body was tense before, but Techno can feel him relax in his hold. 

“Thank you. For everything.” 

“Of course. You can talk to me too, you know?”

Techno sees the teacher walking back to the room in the small glass window, but she stops in her tracks when she sees the two of them having a moment. They make eye contact and give a small smile to each other, the teacher walking back down the hallway. Type and Techno hold each other in that classroom for a long, long time. 

_Don’t forget about this moment. Don’t forget about Tharn’s conversation with you. Remember that there are people here for you._

_You’re not alone in this world, Type._

\--------

It takes Techno a week before he feels like himself again, the conversation he had with Type a huge weight off of his chest. He starts jumping into his friends’ conversations, giving his own input. He stops keeping himself busy by doing homework during lunch. He’s able to look at Type without wanting to drag him somewhere private and cry with him.

But just because he’s feeling better doesn’t mean that he forgot about it. He keeps a close eye on him, trying to make sure that there aren’t any changes in his behavior.

Techno watches Type’s mood for about a month after their conversation, but there aren’t any changes. Type looks better than ever, actually. And even if Type won’t admit it, Techno knows that him and Tharn are getting closer. He doesn’t talk about him with hatred like he used to, which is a big deal considering it’s Type. There’s a huge difference between “I hate him and want everyone like him to burn in hell” and “he’s kind of annoying, but he offered to watch the football game with me tonight”. Type actually smiles when he talks about him sometimes.

_But it’s good that they’re getting closer. Tharn’s a good guy. A really good guy._

Techno ignores the irritated feeling that comes along with that thought. Techno thinks about it for a second.

_Irritated?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: cookys_eyebrows
> 
> IG: litebrite_21


	3. Realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this chapter is a little better than the other two have been, I actually took my time with this one. 
> 
> I'm also going to start putting a song in every chapter to listen to while you read it, so if you've already read the other two before I put them on there, you can check those out if you'd like. :)
> 
> Chapter Song: "Save Yourself" by KALEO. (I recommend listening to the live version at Fjallsárlón!)

It takes Techno a little while before he finally figures everything out. 

\----

Techno and Type are on Type’s bed, playing video games on a portable system. Tharn is out for band practice, so the two of them decided to spend some time together. After their conversation, the two of them are closer than ever. Type really is a nice guy when you get close to him. He’s just cold to other people to protect himself. It doesn’t excuse some of the things he’s done, but it makes a lot of sense now. 

“You’re not really...dating him, are you? It’s a joke, isn’t it?” Techno asks suddenly, furiously pressing random combinations of buttons on his controller.

This afternoon is when Techno found out that Type and Tharn are a couple. He’s still in absolute shock and disbelief. He knew it was coming, but that doesn’t mean that he was prepared for it. 

_This makes absolutely no sense. No wonder they’ve been hanging out._

Type’s shakes his head.

“I am,” he says, doing the same thing on his own controller.

“How did that even happen? I thought you were straight. And what happened to that girl you were talking to? Champ only told me part of the story.” As Techno hits Type’s character on screen, it flashes red and fades to black, congratulating him on his win. 

“Son of a bitch!” Type curses at the game. He puts the controller down and looks down, the question finally registering in his head.

“Things happen, Tech,” Type mumbles, crossing his arms.

“ _Things?_ ” Techno scoffs. “Type, you have a boyfriend.”

“I know.”

" _You_ have a _boyfriend._ ”

“I _know._ ”

“YOU-”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Type snaps, sitting up and putting his hand over Techno’s mouth. His eyes widen in surprise. “It turned out that I didn’t really like her, but I’m comfortable with him. I’ve never liked a guy before him, it just happened. I don’t want anyone else. Got it? It’s not that hard.”

The two stare at each other for a second. Techno feels an ache in his chest.

_Why am I upset? Maybe I’m just worried about him? But this is Tharn we’re talking about. Tharn is probably the kindest person I’ve ever met in my entire life._

_That’s what it is, I’m just worried._

Techno nods, Type letting go of his mouth. He turns back to their game, scrolling through the options.

“I hope everything goes well,” Techno mumbles, distracted by the game and the sadness that he feels. “Another round?"

He can see Type staring at him for another couple of seconds before picking the controller up again and giving Techno a smug look.

“Loser pays for dinner?”

That comment pulls Techno out of his mood.

“Don’t get cocky or you’re going to get your ass kicked again, Thiwat.” Techno smirks.

“Watch it. I’ll kick your ass in real life and you know it,” Type growls in response.

Needless to say, Type paid for dinner that night, flipping Techno off as he tells the elderly woman on the phone what they want to eat.

\----

About a month or two into them dating, Tharn and Type ask Techno to hang out with them at the mall. Which basically means that he’s going to be a third wheel and feel slightly uncomfortable with all of the flirting. But he’d rather be with them, people that he enjoys seeing, than be alone at home with Technic and his weird friend while his mom runs errands.

“Can we go in there?” Type points to a small clothing store.

“Yeah, of course,” Tharn smiles, grabbing his hand and leading him into it. Type looks at their hands and blushes a deep red.

“Tharn, you idiot,” Type slaps his arm softly, then looks at Techno with embarrassment. “We’re in public. And Techno’s here!”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I don’t care.” Techno says sheepishly.

Then he realizes what Type is doing.

“You guys are really cute, actually.”

“Don’t encourage him, you bastard, I’m using you as an excuse!” Type whisper-yells and Tharn starts laughing his ass off, trying to calm his wife down so he doesn’t draw attention to the small group.

“I know, that’s why I said that,” Techno pats the top of Type’s head, causing Type to get so irritated that he just leaves it alone and gives into it. 

As the three of them walk into the store, Techno starts roaming around by himself, looking at whatever is around. He’s not really into clothes. When he looks to his right, he sees the two boys standing by the wall, Type pointing at different shirts that are hanging on hooks. Tharn talks quietly to him, keeping his hand on Type’s back, his other holding his drink. Type looks around him to see if there’s anyone around, then gives Tharn a quick kiss, smiling into it. He rests his head on his shoulder, Tharn continuing to hold him. Techno continues to look at them in awe.

_They look beautiful together. And happy. I shouldn’t be worried at all. Type doesn’t look like that with anyone else._

_...Why is my face wet?_ _  
__  
_Techno takes an unusual amount of time to realize that he’s crying a little, a few tears already going down his neck. He quickly gets rid of any evidence that he had a brief emotional moment, turning to the rack of shirts next to him. He moves them over, pretending like he’s looking at them.

_Okay, I’m apparently not worried about him. What is this? It’s like when I found out they were dating._

“Hey, are you ready?” Tharn taps Techno’s shoulder. Techno can see Type standing behind him out of the corner of his eye. “There’s a few more places that we wanted to go to, but if you have a store that you want to check out, just let us know so we can walk over there.”

Techno plasters on a smile, turning his head to look at him. Tharn’s smiling at him as well. 

“Yeah. Where did you want to go?” Techno asks, eyes flickering between the two of them. Tharn’s expression changes, becoming concerned.

“No, your eyes are so red. Are you okay?” Type walks to him, getting closer to his face to look at his eyes. Techno’s heart pounds in his chest and his face flushes a little. He starts feeling anxious. 

_Whoa._

Techno chokes out a barely audible laugh and pushes at Type’s chest to get him to stop looking at him so closely. The other two men continue to look at him. 

“Chill out,” Techno murmurs, rubbing at his right eye, his other hand still touching Type. “My eyes are just bothering me, I think there’s something in the air. Let’s go to the bathroom so I can rinse my face and I’ll be okay.”

“We don’t have to keep shopping, we can go home and buy some medicine on the way,” Tharn tells him.

“No, it’s okay,” Techno insists. “Let’s go.”

Techno rinses his face off in the men’s room, looking up at his dripping wet face in the mirror. He starts to think, making the running sink below him sound distant. His eyes look a lot better, only a bit discolored now. Techno thinks back to what just happened. Type in his face, looking right at him. He feels himself blush again and his skin visibly changes color, making his eyes look completely normal. 

_What the hell was that about? Pull yourself together, you’re making them worried._

Techno puts his head back down and splashes his face with water again, finally turning off the tap and pulling a paper towel out of the dispenser, running it over his face. He stops halfway and looks at himself again, his eyes widening in realization as he tries to come up with an explanation as to what just happened.

_Oh._

_Oh no._

_Noooo._

_This is your best friend. Your friend who is very much in love with another man._

Techno immediately shakes his head, finishing up and throwing the paper towel in the trash can. He walks out and is met with Tharn and Type standing up against the wall, Type is talking. He hears his name come out of his mouth. The two of them notice him walking out and make their way over to him.

“You good?” Type asks, raising his eyebrow at him. “Your face is red again. Are you sure you’re not sick?” 

“We really don’t mind going-” Tharn starts, but Techno interrupts him.

“No, no, everything’s fine,” he smiles as much as he can, trying not to make eye contact with either of them. “It’s just hot. So, where did you want to go?”

“Tech,” Type whispers. “We know that you were crying earlier, I saw you. And we can help you, but you have to tell us what’s wrong. We agreed that we were here for each other, right?”

Tharn nods, agreeing with Type and they stare at him. Techno looks at both of them with wide eyes, but catches himself quickly and gives them a look, scoffing at them.

“What are you talking about?” Techno fixes his hair a little bit, which is still wet from the water. “I told you it was hot. Plus, you know I have really bad allergies, my eyes were watering. That’s what they do. Everything’s fine.”

“Tech-”  
  
“I’m fine,” Techno finally grabs his shoulder. “Where to next?”

Type opens his mouth, then closes it and shakes his head in frustration.

“Whatever,” he grumbles and pushes Techno’s hand off of him, walking off from him and Tharn.

“Let’s just go.”

Tharn is immediately at his side, turning his head to give a concerned look to Techno. He shakes his head and motions to Tharn, telling him to go with Type. He stays behind them, his smile immediately gone now that he doesn’t have to keep it up. 

He tries to ignore the thoughts that he had in the bathroom.

But the whole time he walks with Tharn and Type, he thinks about it over and over again.

_Do I really?_

\-----

Techno’s really going through it.

As soon as he got home from the mall a few hours ago, he’s been trying to find the answer to his question, and he thinks he may have figured it out. 

Thinking can only help so much as he sits in his room, all of the lights off except for the miniature lamp sitting on his desk. In his office chair, he sifts through a ridiculously giant pile of photos, looking for a couple of specific ones. He doesn’t like them to take up space in his phone, so he prints them and keeps them in a small shoebox, as well as copies of family photos that he really likes. But he hasn’t organized them, so they’re in random groups. As he puts baby photos of him and his brother to the side, he finally finds them. He picks up the first one.

On the first day of classes, the football team captain decided it would be a good idea for all of the season’s players to come and meet each other before they actually started practicing, so they did team building activities and played with water balloons on their field, then got dinner afterwards. This was the day that he met Champ and Type. In the photo, every student is soaked from head to toe. All of them are in different poses and standing in random places, some have shocked expressions as water is poured on them from a bucket. Most of his friends are in this photo and Techno can pick them out fairly quickly. 

On the right side, Type, Champ, and Techno crouch down together, Champ is behind them with his arms around the two of them. Type is actually smiling in the photo, which is kind of a rare sight. Techno turns it over to see his scribbled handwriting. “Freshman year 2019”.

_This should have been the first clue._

\------

_“Can we have all of you guys over here? We want to take a photo!”_

_One of the seniors sets up a small tripod on the bench as all of the players make sounds of agreement and gather in front of it. Techno and Type are the first ones there, standing out of the way for others to stand in the places that they want to be. The two of them stuck by each other the whole time since they were comfortable with each other._

_“I cannot believe someone threw one at my face,” Type laughs to himself, lifting the bottom of his shirt to wipe himself off a little better. As he does this, Techno takes a peek of Type’s flat and slightly toned stomach which is wet from all of the water they just got thrown at them._

Wow. He looks really good.

_Type gives him a questioning look, making him snap out of his thoughts._

_“What are you looking at?” Type asks, looking at the ground next to him._

Thank God he thought I was looking over there.

_“Ah, nothing,” Techno responds, looking away quickly and blushing. “Let’s squat down so that everyone can be seen.”_

_Type brushes off what happened and nods, following Techno’s instructions. Champ comes up to both of them and puts his arms around the two boys, startling them. They both make noises out of surprise._

_“That was actually kind of fun,” Champ breathlessly says, laughing. The two boys join in, Techno glancing over at Type. They make eye contact and smile at each other._

Type is absolutely beautiful when he smiles. I bet a lot of women go after him. 

_The senior runs back and finds a spot amongst the group with his own friends._

_“It’s on a timer, so you guys have about ten seconds!” he yells. They all smile for the picture, Techno still in his thoughts._

You’ve known him for about three hours, calm down.

You’ve never even looked at men before. Where did that come from all of a sudden?

_Techno decides that it’s because he hasn’t had a girlfriend in a very long time and he’s jealous of Type’s good looks. Nothing more._

\----

Techno smiles softly at the memory. That was a very memorable day for all of them. They still joke around about it in the locker room sometimes. When he lifts the photo off of the pile, the second one is uncovered, another photo of the three of them in class. They’re sitting in their desks, all three of them with peace signs. Champ and Techno are smiling, but Type looks annoyed, looking away from the camera. In the background, some students smiled at the camera as well, noticing that they were taking a photo. 

\----

_As Techno got to know Type a little better, he quickly realized something about him._

_That he was a homophobic prick that couldn’t control his anger._

_During their first meeting with the football team, Type was very good at hiding his true personality, leading Techno to believe that Type was a sweet angel who was kind and intelligent. He was quiet, but participated in all of their activities and introduced himself to all of the freshman and older players. He even gave his number out and told everyone that if they needed help or if they needed any tutoring, to just call him and he would do what he could to help them. To be fair, he actually helped a lot of them out and tutors people when he can._

_But he’s also a complete asshole._

_Type couldn’t handle any kind of criticism to save his life, fighting with anyone who told him that he was wrong, even if he was. He cursed at people constantly, sometimes for no reason at all. He was rude and didn’t have a filter of any kind._

_Don’t get even get him started about the whole homophobic thing. When Techno mentioned that he was going to visit his good friends who are a gay couple that are a few cities away, Type voiced his disgust and went on about it. Techno ended up getting fed up with it and punched him in the arm, Champ having to hold the two of them back so that they wouldn’t fight in the middle of class._

_Techno doesn’t even know why he’s friends with him, but he kind of felt bad for him in a way._

No one is going to put up with him like Champ and I do. Plus, it’s nice to have the company. It feels kind of empty when it’s not all three of us. He can be nice at times. When he’s not cold to people. But I think there’s more to this guy than we know. People don’t act like that unless there’s a reason for it.

Who are you? Why do you feel the need to pretend to be someone you’re not? Because you want to be liked or because there’s something else going on?

_“Guys, can we take a photo together?” Techno asks after they’re dismissed, pulling out his phone. “I just realized that I don’t have one of all three of us.”_

_“Okay,” Champ agrees, laughing at Techno’s randomness. The two get closer together as Techno angles the camera in their direction._

_“What are you, a teenage girl?” Type questions with attitude. Techno rolls his eyes and looks at him._

_“You going to do it or not?” Techno asks. “I asked if we could, I didn’t tell you that you had to."_

_“Fine, whatever,” Type grumbles. Techno kind of senses that he’s more into it than he’ll admit, but he’s probably wrong about that. He angles his camera again, smiling at it, Type in the background being unpleasant as always. He takes the photo and puts his phone away._

_“Thank you,” Techno says, putting his things away in his backpack. He looks over to Type who thinks that no one is looking at him. His lips are barely curled up while he packs his bag up to go to his next class._

He’s smiling. I knew it. Jerk.

_Instead of looking annoyed or screaming at people, Type is quiet while he does this, his face completely relaxed._

He looks kind of adorable when he’s calm and- 

Wait, he looks kind of what?

_“What are you staring at?” Type scowls at him._

Nevermind.

_Techno leans over their desks and flicks him between his eyebrows to get him to stop glaring. Type puts his hand up to protect himself._

_“Dick,” Type mutters._

\----

Techno stares at the wall with the photo in his hand, remembering everything. He thinks about it for a second and it hits him like a truck. He finally lets himself ask the question he’s had on his mind all day.

“I have feelings for you, don’t I? I have for a while and I didn’t even know it,” Techno whispers to the still photograph, staring at Type’s face. “No wonder I’m so protective of you.”

Reality starts to hit him.

_He’s in love with someone else. And they’re perfectly happy without me._

Techno starts crying in his chair, gripping onto the photo. His phone buzzes on the table. He wipes his face and leans over to see what it is. It’s from Type.

**Type: Tharn told me I should check on you again, I was going anyway. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap earlier, I’m just worried. Are you sure everything is okay?**

He _apologized_. Techno sends a text back.

**Techno: You guys worry too much. Everything’s fine.**

**Type: Okay…**

**Type: Did you hear that the captains are going to take us out to a bar pretty soon?**

**Techno: No?**

**Type: They want to take us out to celebrate the end of the season and to congratulate everyone on finishing their midterms. Apparently it's a tradition over here. Tharn might be performing there that night.**

**Techno: Thanks.**

Techno throws his phone on the desk, head aching. He puts his elbow on the armrest, his face in his hand, covering his eyes.

“I don’t want to ruin my friendship with you, Type. What do you want me to do?”


	4. Acknowledgement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I was watching Airplane while proofreading this and giggling to myself, so hopefully I caught everything. I also got really stuck writing this chapter, but I figured it out. :)
> 
> Chapter song: Do I Wanna Know? by Hozier (the original version is by Arctic Monkeys)

After sitting in his room for a while and trying to figure out what to do, Techno gives up. He stands up and grabs his backpack, pulling out his laptop.

_ I need to not think about this for a little while. _

He opens his computer and puts in his password, met with his unfinished paper for class. He starts typing a little bit before hearing a knock on his door, Kengkla poking his head in. He’s wearing Technic’s shirt and pants, obviously just out of the shower.

“Techno, can I talk to you?” 

_ He must be spending the night. _

“Uh, sure. Sit down,” he points to the bed and rolls his chair over to the side of the bed where Kengkla sits in front of him. “What’s up?”

“I have feelings for you.”

Techno blinks.   
  
“What?”   
  
“I have feelings for you,” Kengkla repeats, grinning.

Techno is speechless. This kid? He laughs.

“You’re joking, right?”   
  
Kengkla shakes his head. Techno stops smiling and sits back in his chair. He struggles to come up with a response to the sudden confession.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way,” Techno apologizes. 

“Can you at least take some time to think about it?” Kengkla mumbles, sounding down. Techno doesn’t want to talk about this right now, considering he has more things to worry about.

“Okay,” he whispers. Kengkla stands up and puts his hand on his shoulder.

“Goodnight, Tech,” he says before walking out of the room leaving a stressed and confused Techno still in his chair. He hangs his head and whimpers.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

\-----

The next time that the group of three have lunch together again, Techno is losing his mind. He hasn’t talked to Kengkla since that night and he’s still trying to figure out what to do about his friend. Techno’s fingers hit the table rhythmically to soothe his nerves. This continues until Type pushes his hands flat on the table roughly, causing the noise to come to an abrupt end. 

“For the love of God, please shut up,” Type says, closing his eyes in frustration, hands still on Techno’s. His brain short circuits at the touch and he pulls them away, trying to speak with an even tone.

“I will. Only because you said ‘please’ instead of just hitting me,” he pouts. “You’re rough when you’re mad. I feel bad for Tharn.” Champ snorts loudly. Type slaps both of them in the head.

“Morons,” Type grumbles, blushing a little and taking a sip of some neon drink that looks ridiculously unhealthy. Techno giggles to himself, then stops and directs his gaze at Type, feeling sadness wash over him.

_ I’d rather keep our group together than ruin everything. I’d rather have this than tell him about it. _

“I don’t know what you’re looking at, but you need to stop,” Type says coldly, setting his drink back on the table. He raises an eyebrow at Techno. “What’s going on with you, No?”

“Uhh.”

Champ and Type are both looking at him, expecting an answer from the smaller of the three. Looks like Champ caught on, too. 

“Nothing,” he looks away, continuing to eat his food in peace. 

“You’re lying,” Champ and Type say together.

“No, really, I’m fine. Technic’s friend asked me out and I haven’t talked to him about it. I just told him I’d think about it, but I don’t want to be with him,” Techno responds with his mouth full, only telling part of his troubles. 

“Ah,” Champ says, nodding slightly. “Just be honest, tell him how you feel. He’ll find someone else.”

Techno thinks about Champ’s advice.

_ I need to find someone else. That’s what I need to be doing.  _

Techno just nods, hoping that would be the end of it. But of course, Type feels the need to add onto it. 

“Are you rejecting him because you have feelings for someone?” Type asks with a smirk on his face. Techno’s stomach drops at the question, suddenly feeling anxious. He swallows.

“No, I don’t,” he says after an uncomfortably long pause. Type shakes his head and smiles.

“Liar,” he breathes out, putting some rice into his mouth and standing up

“I’m going to meet Tharn. He’s going to have practice around dinnertime, do you guys want to go out for dinner?” 

“Yes, are you paying?” Champ nudges him. Type cackles.

“Dream on,” he says, shifting his head to look at Techno. “You?”

“I can’t, I have some homework to do,” Techno says, his head still down in embarrassment. Type raises his eyebrow at him. 

“You’re saying no to a meal?”

“Yeah, well. This week is going to be a little rough, I have a lot of work to do.”

Type looks slightly disappointed and shakes his head.

“Okay,” he says. He looks at Champ. “I’ll see you later then.”

\----

Type tries to find someone, but he’s got nothing.

That night, while Type is sending him photos of him and Champ eating barbeque with captions telling him that they both miss him, Techno is sitting at the bar, looking around for people to talk to. At the same time, he sends a text to Kengkla apologizing and telling him that it won’t work out, but that they would talk about it later. 

_ This is what I need to do. I need to move on.  _

Techno keeps shifting his eyes around, finally finding a petite girl standing with her friends. The woman has hair down to her waist, dyed a violet color. She’s the only one not wearing a dress or a skirt, instead wearing jeans and a shirt, all black. He watches her interact with them, giggling about whatever topic they’re talking about. She’s currently facing a girl with a white skirt on.

_ She seems like a very kind person, this could work. And she’s absolutely gorgeous. _

Techno takes a sip of the beer in his hand, standing up and walking over to her. She notices that he’s going to her table and gives him a warm grin, the other girl noticing as well. He nods to the people around her.

“Excuse me,” he says politely. He turns to the woman. “Can I buy you a drink?”

Her friends give looks to each other and take the hint, all standing up.

“We’ll meet you later,” one of them says, the group moving to the dance floor across the room. She watches all of them leave and turns to Techno.

“Hi,” she puts out her hand. “Fah.”   
  
“Techno,” he shakes her hand.    


_ God, she’s beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. _

“If you’re offering, I’d like another glass of wine,” Fah says, tapping her stained wine glass with her fingernail.

“You got it,” Techno motions toward the bar. The two of them walk together to a pair of stools on the end. They sit down and Techno calls out Fah’s order to the bartender, getting a thumbs-up in response from the really pretty 20-something year old man with tattoos tending to their patrons. 

_ He’s pretty too. Damn. Okay, I’m definitely bi.  _

Techno sits up straight and turns to Fah.

“So, what’s up?”   


_ Nice, Tech. Smooth. _

“You don’t talk to many girls, do you?” she giggles, leaning on the bartop. The man replaces her old glass with a new one. Techno looks down, embarrassed. “My friends invited me over here. I kind of didn’t want to come, but I like them, so I don’t mind being here if it means that I can see them.”

_ Type would be complaining about not wanting to go and then complain the whole time he was here. Then he would get wasted and wouldn’t care anymore. _

He catches himself before that thought goes too far.

“What about you?” she asks, resting her head on her hand. Techno debates how to answer that.

“I just had some time to kill,” he finally gets out, finishing off his beer. Fah smirks.

“That’s a lie,” she tells him. He raises an eyebrow.

_ Am I that easy to read? Are you kidding me with that? Let me be sad in peace. _

Techno closes his eyes and sighs, deciding to be honest.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, staring at the wine glasses hanging upside down in the middle of the bar.

“So what are you really doing here?” Fah questions

“If I’m being completely honest, I have someone I’m trying to get over. I figured that I would talk to people and see what happens,” he says. She raises her eyebrows and then snorts.

“Listen, you’re lucky that you talked to me. Other women would have been mad that you used them for that. But I appreciate your honesty,” she says with amusement. “You’re really bad at talking to strangers, I’m just going to put that out there.”

“Hey, I’m trying, it’s been a long time” Techno laughs. Fah leans over towards him.

“What do you want me to do?” she asks him. Techno’s mouth opens, but no words come out. All of a sudden, Fah grabs the back of his neck softly, smirking. 

“I can kiss you, see if you feel anything.”

Techno’s face turns bright red and he considers it for a moment, directing his gaze elsewhere. She suddenly gets serious.

“I was kind of joking, but I will if you want me to. If not, we can just go back to our drinks and pretend that this never happened. I won’t do anything you don’t want.”

Techno thinks about it for a second, staring at her face.    


_ Alright. _

He nods slowly.

“I need words, sweetheart,” she tells him, maintaining eye contact. “Is this okay?”

“Yes, it’s okay,” he whispers. “Please?”

Fah slowly leans in, taking her time with him. The two of them finally meet in the middle, their lips brushing slowly against one another. He puts his hand on her waist, giving her enough time to push him away, but she doesn’t. 

_ She’s way more gentle than I was expecting her to be. _

Techno tries to focus on the way he feels for a second, rather than what’s going on around him. He loves the closeness and the intimacy. 

_ It’s so nice. I haven’t felt something like this in a long time. But as much as I like it, I don’t feel anything for her. It just feels like a face on mine. If I didn’t have feelings for him, I would be loving this right now.  _

_ What if I…? _

Techno starts to imagine that Fah is Type.

It’s him that he’s kissing in this full bar.

It’s his waist that he’s grabbing onto.

It’s him.

_ It’s just him. Type.  _

When he starts imagining it, Techno starts to get into it. He pulls Fah closer to him, trying not to make her fall off of the stool. He puts his hand into her hair, expecting short, coarse strands, but he’s met with soft, flowing hair. It pulls him out of it, shame filling his body.

_ This is so wrong. _

Techno is the first one to pull away, feeling a little dazed. Fah waits for a response from him. He presses his lips together.

“I’m sorry, it’s just not him,” he says, hand still in her hair. Fah blinks.

“Him?”   
  
Techno realizes his mistake and turns eight different shades of red, finally backing off.

“Ah, ignore that!” he exclaims, hiding his face. “Thank you for the kiss, though!”

She rubs his back.

“It’s fine, I don’t have a problem with it. Maybe this is a good time to tell you that I’m bi?”

Techno breathes out in relief.

“Thank God.”

“What’s he like?” she asks. Techno thinks about it and pulls out his phone, finding the photo of Type and Champ he received an hour ago. He turns it to her and points to him.

“His name is Type. I just met him a few months ago.”

“Aww. He seems like a sweet guy. He’s adorable.”

“Maybe. But he’s a stubborn, hot-headed man,” he responds, but he looks down at the photo and smiles sadly.

“And you like him?”   
  
“So much,” Techno breathes out. 

“Then why don’t you go get him?”

Techno looks through his phone and finds a photo that he took when Type and Tharn invited him over. They fell asleep together on the couch that night while they were watching TV. Type is curled up against Tharn, hand gripping his shirt and Tharn’s arm around him. Type got embarrassed when Techno showed it to him, but Techno knows that he loves that picture.   
  
“He belongs to someone else,” he mumbles.    


Fah looks at the photo for a moment, her face becoming kind of sad. She looks out to the crowd of people. 

“See her over there? The one in the middle? Her name is Plan.” she points to the dance floor, her group dancing to some EDM song playing loudly in the building. Fah's talking about the same girl that Techno saw her talking to before.  Plan sticks out from the rest of their friends, wearing a white skirt and sweater, a contrast from all of the dark clothes people are wearing around her. “I’ve had feelings for her since we were in high school. I haven’t told her.”

“Why not?” Techno asks, but then it clicks. “You’re afraid of ruining your friendship, aren’t you?”

Fah nods, finishing off her glass of wine.

“But it is what it is,” she sighs while placing her cup down. “I want to. Have you told anyone about him?”   
  
“Just you,” he says. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship either. We have our little friend group and I’m happy with that.”

“Maybe you should just talk to him about it.”

“That’s a bad idea,” Techno chokes out, his voice laced with fear.

“If you’re close to him and his boyfriend, they might just brush it off. Then they know about it and you can get over it because it’s out of your system. You don’t need to tell everyone. But I can tell that it’s bothering you a little, it might help to talk about it with him. He might understand.”   


Techno thinks about it for a second.

_ I kind of get what she means. _

“Or you could just try to find someone better, although it looks like you’re having trouble with that,” Fah says and then grins. “You guys could be in a poly relationship. Do you know if they’re into that?”   
  
Techno tilts his head.

“Poly…?”   


“Yeah, where more than two people are in a relationship?”   
  
_...That’s a thing? _

“Huh,” he hums. “He told me he didn’t want anyone else.”

“Fah!”

Techno and Fah turn around to see Fah’s friends waving her over. She waves at them.

“I have to go, but I want to give you this,” she pulls a pen out of her pocket, writing her phone number down. “Think about what I said, let me know how it goes. And I really want to be friends with you, so text me sometime.”

“For sure.”

Fah he finishes up and looks at him.

“You seem like an amazing guy. Good luck with everything, okay? Even if it doesn’t go well, someone will be lucky to have you as their boyfriend. I’m sure you can find someone.”

“Thank you for everything,” Techno says. “And you should really follow your own advice. Just talk to her. You guys seem close enough for it to go well, even if you two won’t be in a relationship.”

Fah looks like she thinks about it for a second and she softly smiles. She kisses him on the forehead and ruffles his hair, the two of them grinning at each other again before she walks off to join her friends. They all look at him and seem to be teasing Fah about what happened. Techno looks down at his hand. 

_ Alrighty. So I got a kiss from a girl and her phone number. I guess that’s what I came here for.  _

His phone buzzes and he opens it up, finding a text from Type, showing a photo of himself and Fah sitting at the bar.

**Type: “I have a lot of homework” my ass.**

Techno’s eyes look around the bar, trying to find Type and he finally finds him, standing by the bathroom. Type glares at him from across the room and rushes over to him as soon as he notices. Techno looks around for Champ, but doesn’t see him anywhere.

“Seriously?” Type asks, noticeably upset.

“Where’s Champ? How long have you been here?” Techno looks behind Type.

“Don’t change the subject. Did you seriously not go with us because you wanted to meet a girl?” 

Techno starts to get defensive.

“Why do you care? You don’t know what I was doing here. I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want."

“You could have just told us about it, why did you lie?”

“Don’t worry about it.” 

“Techno,” Type closes his eyes. “You’ve been acting weird for a few weeks and I don’t know what’s up with you, but I’d appreciate it if you would tell me.”

Techno stares elsewhere, biting his lip.

_ Do I tell him? _

Type gets irritated and scoffs at him. 

“Fine,” he says and turns around to leave, but Techno grabs his arm.

“Wait,” Techno mumbles. Type looks at him. 

“I’m not ready yet,” Techno says to him. Type gives him a questioning look. “I have some stuff to tell you, but I can’t yet. Just give me a little bit of time.”

Type looks satisfied with that answer, but he still looks like he’s thinking about something. He nods.

“Okay,” he says and takes his arm from Techno. He seems unfocused. “I need to go back home. I’ll text you later.”

And just like that, Type is gone.

Techno leans on the bartop.

_ What was that about? _

\---

When Type gets home, he takes off his shoes and his jacket at the door, strolling into the room. Tharn looks up from the floor, watching some random late night show.

“Hey,” Tharn sticks his arm out, motioning for Type to sit next to him and cuddle on the floor. Type puts his keys on the desk and sits down, resting onto Tharn’s side. He kisses Type’s head.

“Did you have fun?” Tharn asks, flipping through channels. Type hums. Tharn stops and puts the remote down.   
  
“Are you okay?”   


Type stays silent and hugs Tharn tighter. Tharn holds him tighter as well. He knows that he just needs to be here for Type and he’ll speak up eventually. Type takes a deep breath.

“I have a question.”

“Hm?”   


A small pause.

“Do you think Techno has feelings for me?” Type blurts out. Tharn looks down at him.

“What are you talking about?”


	5. Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I watched The Novelist and Mood Indigo and no words could describe how insane they were. They were good and I was really into Mood Indigo, but the whole thing was so shocking the entire time. 
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the delay. I didn’t want to take a week to write this chapter, but I’m also getting busy with school, so I had to debate what I was doing for this chapter while also doing homework and preparing for Zooms. I had trouble deciding on how this would go, but I figured it out. Thank you for the comments and support, I really appreciate it. It keeps me motivated knowing that people are into it. :)
> 
> (I was kind of falling asleep while writing this so hopefully it makes sense, I read it twice.)
> 
> Chapter Song: Sweet Night by V

_ “Everything’s fine.” _

_ “You know I have really bad allergies.” _

_ “I have some stuff to tell you.” _

_ How stupid do you think I am, Techno?  _

Type sits in his car, eyes closed and expression slightly angry. He lightly hits his fist on the steering wheel out of frustration, tears burning in his eyes. After his conversation with Techno, he sat outside of the bar replaying the past few weeks in his head. People give him concerned looks from outside, getting a nod from the boy who’s trying to keep it together. A few minutes pass and Techno comes outside, not noticing that Type is still there. He walks over to his car as well. Type stares at him. 

_ I told you that you could talk to me. Do you not trust me or something? _

Type starts thinking about the day at the mall, looking over and seeing Techno staring at them, not noticing that he was starting to get emotional. Watching Techno try to hide his own problems and pretend to be strong was really tough. Type had looked away to save him the embarrassment, but he knew that something was wrong. He confronted Techno about it, but he wouldn’t tell him anything. Type tries to piece it together.    


_ You get upset being around us and you started acting weird around us when I told you we were dating. Do you like Tharn? Is that what this is about? _

Type continues to think about it. Techno never stared at Tharn. He didn’t really talk to him unless Type was around. But he always stared at Type. He seemed flustered and nervous around him when you caught him in the right moment. Even when they first met. Type just never really paid attention to it. 

It clicks and Type’s slumps in the driver’s seat. 

_ It’s me, isn’t it? You’re hurt because of me.  _

Type bites his lip and leans forward, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Type’s phone goes off, letting him know that Tharn texted him, the familiar ringtone playing in the small space. Type sighs. 

_ I need you both to tell me what to do here. How long are you going to let us watch you struggle, Tech? _

\-----

“Do you think that Techno has feelings for me?” Type blurts out, sitting up to look at his boyfriend. He looks back at Type with wide eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Tharn asks, bewildered. 

Type gathers his thoughts for a second before explaining. 

_ Just hear me out, don’t get jealous and upset. _

“I went out with Champ tonight and I invited Techno, but he didn’t want to go,” Type says. Tharn gives him his undivided attention, keeping his eyes on him. “After we were done eating, I wanted to go to Jeed’s for a drink, but Champ didn’t, so he went home. I went to the bathroom and when I got out, I saw No talking to this girl. She kissed him, so I waited for a minute to see what was happening. She left, so I talked to him. I thought he didn’t go with us because he was meeting a girl and I was really mad at him, but…”

He trails off, staring off into space. Tharn gives him a second before he continues. 

“Remember when he was crying?” he asks. Tharn sits up a little and gives Type a look like he’s starting to understand what Type is talking about. “He didn’t notice, but I saw him staring at us. I asked if he had feelings for anyone and he told me that he didn’t, but he was lying. I know he was. I know something’s off and I really think that’s what it is. He was kissing that girl, but why would he have a crush on me and then go after someone else? He might be trying to get over it.”

Type finally looks at Tharn, but he stares at him in disbelief. His mouth opens like he’s trying to say something, but he can’t get anything out. 

“You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed anything at all,” Type mumbles, playing with his own hands out of nervousness. Tharn’s expression turns into concern. 

“I have,” he whispers. “I didn’t think that’s what it was. I thought maybe he was lonely.”

Type shakes his head and covers his face with his hands, letting out an exasperated sigh. 

“What are you thinking, Type?” Tharn asks, stroking his side with his hand, trying to comfort the boy. Type shifts a little and closes his eyes, lowering his hands. “Talk to me.”

“I just wish he would tell me,” he mumbles. “I’m not going to hurt him. He’s hurting himself.”

“You have to understand that you’re a very scary person,” Tharn giggles to himself, trying to lighten the mood. It earns him a slap to the arm and he laughs harder. “See?”

“Shut up,” Type grumbles.   


“Would you tell someone that’s in a relationship that you have feelings for them?” Tharn questions, suddenly serious. Type’s face relaxes. He thinks about it for a second and shakes his head. 

“If they were happy, no. Even if they weren’t, I probably wouldn’t.”

“He probably doesn’t want to start anything,” Tharn whispers.

Type nods and goes back to his side, oddly quiet.

“You’re not telling me something,” Tharn says, looking down at him. Type shakes his head.

“I just don’t really know what to do.”

At that moment, Tharn’s phone rings, so he sits up and picks it up off of the coffee table, seeing Techno’s name on the top of his screen. 

“He’s calling me,” Tharn says, looking at Type. “What do you want me to do?”

Type purses his lips, thinking.

“Put it on speakerphone,” he says. Tharn puts it on the table, answering it and following Type’s instructions.

“Hey, Tech.”

Type listens closely, curious about what the boy wants.

_ Just say something, we’ll deal with it. It’s not a problem. _

\-----

Techno stares at the ceiling in his room, laying on his bed. He flopped onto his bed after he got home and ever since then, Fah’s words have been repeating over and over in his mind like a broken record.

_ “Maybe you should just talk to him about it.”  _

Techno keeps debating his options.

_ I can either tell him and potentially ruin our friendship or not tell him and let it drive me insane. God, I don’t want either of those. What can I do? _

_...What if I talk to Tharn? He wouldn’t kill me like Type would. Right?  _ _ Type is his boyfriend, I have to tell him something.  _

Techno turns to his side a little bit to pull out his phone, turning it on and opening his contacts.

_ I need to do this now or I never will. _

He hesitates, staring at Tharn’s number. His finger hovers over it before he pushes it quickly and pulls the phone to his ear.

_ Here we go. _

The line rings a couple of times before Tharn picks up the phone.

“Hey, Tech,” Tharn cheerily responds. “What’s up?”

“Is Type with you?”

Tharn pauses before he responds.

“No, he hasn’t come home yet. He said he was out with Champ,” Tharn responds. Techno sighs in relief. 

“I really, really need to talk to you whenever you’re free,” Techno says, his normal bubbly tone now laced with sorrow.

“About what? Are you okay?” Tharn asks, obviously concerned. His voice is so warm and calm. He doesn’t even know. A rush of anxiety washes over Techno and he starts shaking a little.

“Everything’s fine. I just need to tell you some things that I should tell you in person. Just wait until we can have a full conversation. I’ll explain everything then.”

“Okay. I have band practice tomorrow, can we meet up after?”

“That’s fine,” Techno mumbles, before he realizes something. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Of course, what do you need?”

“Don’t tell Type you’re seeing me. Just tell him you guys had a late practice. Please.”

Tharn pauses again.   
  
_ Why does he keep doing that? _

“Okay, no problem,” he agrees. He sounds distracted. “I’ll pick you up, okay? We can go get coffee or something.” 

Techno nods even though Tharn can’t see him.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He hangs up before even getting a response back, quickly sending a text to Fah to update her on what just happened and tossing his phone somewhere on the floor. It buzzes a couple of times. His heart is pounding in his chest.

_ Please don’t let this ruin anything.  _

In the other household, Type and Tharn talk quietly, talking about little things that they have noticed from Techno and wondering how the next day will go for them. Tharn reassures Type again as they lay in bed together an hour later, falling asleep.

\-----

At 8:30 the next day, Techno is sitting in his chair texting Fah. He stayed home from school, not wanting to talk to anyone. He got a few concerned texts from Type and Champ, but he only responded to Champ’s, knowing that he would probably pass the message on. 

**Fah: Don’t panic. Everything is going to be okay.**

**Techno: I just don’t want to ruin anything. I love them a lot, I don’t want them out of my life.**

**Fah: They won’t leave. You guys are close, they’ll figure out a way to deal with it.**

As Techno goes to write a response, he gets a text from Tharn.

**Tharn: I’m here.**

Techno’s heart drops at the notification. He looks at himself in the mirror, adjusting his sweatshirt a little. He runs to the front door and opens it, finding Tharn’s car parked outside, Tharn leaning on it, his arms crossed. He looks kind of anxious as well. He looks up at the sound of Techno closing his door. He closes the gate and walks up to Tharn.

“Hey,” he tells him, quietly.

“Hi,” Tharn responds with a smile, standing up. “Get in.”

Techno nods and goes to the other side, getting into the car. He takes a deep breath as Tharn gets into the driver's side, the inside of the car going dark as he does. He starts driving, the two of them in comfortable silence for a few minutes. As comfortable as it can be with Techno panicking in his seat. He looks out of the window until Tharn speaks up.

“Did you already eat? We can go to a restaurant instead if you’d like.” he asks, his head going back and forth between Techno and the road ahead.

“No, I’m okay, thank you,” Techno murmurs.

“Coffee?” Tharn asks, pulling into the cafe parking lot. Techno nods. The two of them get out of the car and stroll into the shop, quickly being surrounded with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and pastries. They are greeted by an employee and pick a place to sit. As they sit down, Tharn starts talking.

“Before we order, let’s get the talking over with. What did you want to tell me?” Tharn folds his hands together on the table, giving Techno his attention.

Techno’s reminded of the conversation he had with Type. It’s a similar feeling.

“I figured some stuff out,” Techno whispers. Tharn stays silent so that he can continue.

“I’m bi,” he continues. Tharn nods, looking at the table. 

“Okay…” he draws out the word. He looks at Techno again. “You didn’t call me to tell me this, did you? You can’t be nervous about telling me that.”

Techno shakes his head. Tharn sighs.

“Whatever it is, I’m not going to judge you, okay? I know you’re friends with Type, but I’m here whenever you need me.”

_ Please don’t be upset with me. _

“Well…”

_ Please don’t yell at me. _

“I have…”

_ Please don’t let this ruin anything I have with either of you. _

“I’ve had feelings for Type for a while,” Techno finally gets it out. He doesn’t even look at Tharn. He continues.

“And I’m not going to go after him or anything, but I haven’t told anyone. The two of you are very happy and I love him as a friend, I don’t want to ruin any of that. The only reason that I’m telling you is because I can’t handle it anymore and it’s better that I tell you and get it out so that I can get over it.”

Techno keeps his gaze down at his lap. 

“I’m so sorry,” Techno whimpers. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but I can’t take it anymore. I tried going out with other people and I couldn’t do it. I felt guilty about not telling you about it. I’m sorry.”

The two sit in silence for a good minute, Techno refusing to look at Tharn. All of a sudden, Tharn puts his hand on the back of Techno’s head gently, thumb brushing over his scalp. Techno finally looks up at Tharn, who looks slightly relieved at the confession. Techno isn’t sure if that’s actually what Tharn is feeling, so he gets scared and opens his mouth again to explain, but Tharn just presses his lips together and shakes his head.

“We know,” Tharn whispers. Techno starts to get teary-eyed at the words. “Type and I talked last night, he’s worried about you. He knows that I’m here, we figured that you were going to tell me about it. It’s okay.”

Relief. Pure relief. Techno closes his eyes and puts his head back down, sighing and enjoying Tharn’s touch. Then, he realizes what Tharn said, head shooting back up. It startles Tharn and he pulls his hand away. 

“Wait, he knows?”   


Tharn smirks.

“You’re not exactly the best at hiding your emotions,” he snickers. Techno looks down again.

“Is he upset with me?” Techno asks, looking up. Tharn’s smile goes away.

“Of course he’s not,” Tharn says. “Actually, he was more upset that you didn’t come to him to talk about it.”

“Why would I tell him? I would have ruined our friendship,” Techno says. Tharn shakes his head.

“Type cares more about you than you realize. He might have been a little shocked at first, but he wants you in his life.”   


Techno nods.

“Thank you for being so understanding. Both of you.”

“Of course. Anytime, Tech.”

Techno stares off into space for a little bit.

“I want a scone,” Techno mumbles, causing Tharn to giggle.

“You want to order, then?” Tharn stands first, then Techno. Techno sends a quick message to Fah.

**Techno: All is well, they both knew and I’m not dead.**

**Fah: Told you. :)**

\-----

Tharn comes home to an expectant and obviously anxious Type sitting on the couch, immediately turning to him when he walks in the room.

“So?” Type asks, eyes wide.

Tharn just nods making Type take a deep breath and cover his face with his hand, obviously frustrated. He takes the spot on the couch next to Type and pats his lap, motioning for him to cuddle with him. Type sits on him, facing Tharn and letting himself relax in his hold. Tharn holds him closely and lightly rocks them back and forth. Type rests his face in Tharn’s neck, kissing it lightly. 

“What did he tell you?” Type questions, more relaxed than before.

“He was scared that you would be upset and I told him that you weren’t. He didn’t want to tell you because he didn’t want to ruin your friendship,” Tharn says.

“I knew it,” Type sighs. “I don’t want him to be scared to tell me things.”   


Tharn stays silent, alerting Type. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you feel that way for him?” 

Type pulls away again and blinks at him. 

“Do I what?”

“You heard me. Do you want to be with him?”

Tharn doesn’t look mad or upset at all, but Type starts to panic.

_ What? _

“No, not at all! I’m yours, you know that,” Type starts rambling, Tharn grabbing his hands to get him to stop. With his other hand, he grabs Type’s face.

“Baby,” he whispers, causing Type to get anxious, even at the comforting gesture. He rests his forehead against Type’s. “Calm down.”   


Type takes a deep breath and wraps his arms around Tharn.

“I’m yours,” he whimpers again.

“I want you to think about this,” Tharn mumbles, stroking Type’s hair. “I’m seriously asking.”

That’s when Type starts to lose it a little, tears starting to go down his face.

“Please don’t leave,” Type whispers. He grabs Tharn’s shirt in his hand tightly. “I don’t want you to go. I’m not going to leave you for him. Please."

“What?” Tharn asks, then finally realizes his mistake. Tharn shushes him softly, trying to soothe him. “I’m not going anywhere, honey. It’s okay. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then why are you asking me?” Type sniffles, loosening his grip on the shirt. 

Tharn goes silent again.

“Do you want to be with him?” Tharn asks.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Type immediately responds.

“Do you want to be with him? Be honest with me.” Tharn continues to ask him the same question. Type opens and closes his mouth a few times.

“I’ve never thought about it, Tharn. I didn’t even figure it out until yesterday,” Type tries to get his words out. Tharn wipes his tears off of his face. “I love you, you know that. I’m happy with you.” 

“I know,” Tharn continues to look at Type, trying to comfort him. “Maybe...this could work out for all three of us.” 

_ All three of us? _

“What do you mean?”    
  
“If you ever decide that maybe you want to try with both of us, tell me,” Tharn whispers. Type furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Tharn starts to explain.

“I would never let someone take you from me. Ever. You are mine,” he says firmly, but his expression is calm and loving. “But I trust Techno to take care of you if he really wants to. If we talk about it and it’s something you want, we can discuss it.”

_ You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve you, Tharn.  _

Type looks down, not giving a response. Tharn kisses his forehead.

“Don’t stress out about it,” Tharn tells him. “It’s just an option if you ever want it, okay? Techno’s a great friend to you. I don’t mind. I haven’t told him anything yet, but I don’t think he’d mind, either.”

Tharn gives him a small smile that makes Type feel so warm inside, feeling a lot of emotions at once. He finally nods, quickly kissing Tharn on the lips and going back to his neck, tears still falling slowly. The two lovers enjoy each other’s warmth and comfort, both thinking about how they want to move forward. Type gets lost in it.

_ Do I even feel that way about Techno? _

This is the last thought he has as he drifts off to sleep in Tharn’s arms. Tharn’s phone buzzes quietly and he pulls it out, careful not to wake Type. 

**Techno: Thank you again. And I’m sorry about all of this. We’ll pretend that this never happened and we can just go back to normal.**

**Tharn: Don’t worry about it, everything is okay. But we’ll talk about it later.**

**Techno: About what? I told you everything.**

Tharn leaves his message opened and puts his phone away. He looks down at the sleeping boy in his arms, tears still staining his cheeks. Tharn starts stroking his hair again, a small smile on Type’s face.

“Whatever you decide, Type,” Tharn whispers to no one. Type shifts a little. “We’ll figure it out together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys got a little bit of Type's thoughts as well! 
> 
> I'm going to take a little bit of time and try to organize this a little bit better. This was supposed to be a 10,000 word series at the very most and it's becoming way longer than I thought it would be, so I want it to make sense and be organized. The chapters aren't always planned out, so remembering small details can be a little difficult for me sometimes. 
> 
> I'm also planning to include an extra chapter when this is finished where I explain my old ideas for chapters and what my outlines used to look like until I changed the story a little. If you guys would be interested in reading this, please let me know!
> 
> Thank you all for reading! Let's see how many more chapters will be in here!


	6. Consideration

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note for this chapter: Bold italics are Type's thoughts, italics are Techno's thoughts. If there are any errors, please let me know! I read it through pretty quickly. 
> 
> Hello, all of you amazing, beautiful people! I'm so sorry about the delay, but chapter 6 is here!
> 
> If you missed my little announcement, chapter updates will be less frequent and not on a schedule at all since I'm in school and working on audition material for music. I'm working on it as much as I possibly can. It's getting there. I think there's about 4-6 chapters left, but that could change. 
> 
> Much love to all of you. To the people who left comments telling me to take my time, I appreciate it very much, thank you. :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -Chris
> 
> Chapter Song: "i don't want to watch the world end with someone else" by Clinton Kane

The conversation doesn’t really bother them. 

Techno, Type, and Tharn, and Champ have lunch together a few times in the next couple of weeks. They never talk about the elephant in the room, but Type is okay with that. Techno seems happier, too. Like he’s not carrying around a weight anymore. They chat away like always, throwing out jokes and random stories. They feel at home with each other. 

“Tech, you’re going to the football thing, right?” Type questions, sipping his water. Champ looks at him expectantly. Techno raises an eyebrow, swallowing his food. 

“The what?”   


“Remember? I texted you about the captains taking us out. You’re going, right?”

Techno freezes, remembering that they were supposed to go to the bar with them. 

_ I haven’t been to the bar since I kissed Fah. I don’t want to be thinking about all of that while I’m with the guys. Plus, they’re going to try to get me wasted and I’d rather not throw up in another flower pot. _

He shudders, remembering things that happen when they all go drinking. 

“I don’t know yet,” Techno lies, looking at his plate. “I have work-”

“No, you don’t,” Type firmly states. “That’s your excuse when you’re sad or don’t want to do anything. And I know you’re not sad.”   


_ Damn. How closely does everyone watch me? _

“Come on, we’re just going to drink and talk, you don’t have to do anything,” Type whines, poking him. “Plus, Champ and I are going to be lonely. You didn’t come with us to get barbeque that one time. You have to."

_ You’re really pulling that card, huh? _

Type stares at Techno, waiting for an answer. He feels his heart pounding and starts to get nervous, but he immediately looks down and pushes his feelings away, trying not to give anything away.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he sighs, surprised he kept his tone even. “Might as well.”

Type smirks, then points his fork at him.    
  
“You better be or I’ll make you,” he says, taking a bite of his chicken and turning to Tharn and asking him about something.

Techno can’t help but feel a little jealous and sad at the sight, but he tries his best to keep it to himself, knowing that the feeling will go away eventually and they can go back to normal. He tilts his head a little and tries to think about more pleasant things. He can see Champ glancing in his direction, but he doesn’t think much of it and stays quiet, keeping to himself.

That night, Techno is at the bar again looking for someone. Anyone. He’s not interested in any of these people. He ends up just drinking his soda in the corner while thinking about Type and feeling guilty. He stirs his straw around in frustration, hoping that it will distract him from his own head. 

_ I’m here to find someone so I don’t think about him anymore and look at me. I need to find someone quickly.  _

_ I can find them, it’ll be fine. _

Techno closes his eyes and leans back against the booth. 

“Hey,” a girl says, sitting next to him in the booth. He looks behind her to see if she’s alone, and sure enough, she is. 

“Hello,” he sits up, looking at her. “Can I help you?”   


“I just thought you looked kind of lonely,” the girl smiles at him sadly. “I wanted to talk to you, you seem nice.”

“Ah,” he hums. “Yes, please. I haven’t met anyone since I’ve been here. I bought a soda an hour ago and I’m still here.”

She giggles and the two of them hit it off. They exchange names and basic info, talking for an hour. He quickly learns that her name is Plan. She makes him dance the night away, giggling and kissing softly in between songs, acting like a couple. They get amused glances from the rest of the people around them. 

_ This is...good. It’s better than last time. It’s not exactly where I want to be, but I’m okay here. _

Before Techno knows it, he’s being pinned up against Plan's front door, feeling her nipping on his neck. It quickly goes to the bedroom where Techno is losing his mind. As he moves on top of her, he starts thinking again. 

_ Type… _

His thoughts take ov er and he imagines the boy under him instead of soft, sweet Plan calling out his name quietly in pleasure. It doesn’t even feel good to imagine him, it just gets the job done. Techno isn’t even thinking for most of it, only being aware of what’s going on when the two of them are panting on the bed, staring at her ceiling. 

“You want to go again?” she breathes out and Techno realizes what happened, sitting up quickly. 

“I...have to go home,” he murmurs, scrambling to get his clothes off of the floor. She doesn’t say anything, just stares at him from the bed. He dashes to the front door and when he gets outside, he realizes that he left his car at the bar and it’s currently around 1am. 

Techno walks the street for an hour to get back, shivering a little. He drives home in silence. 

_ I feel like...I betrayed him. He doesn’t belong to me.  _

A sad, exhausted Techno waltzes into a drugstore at 2:30 to pick up some concealer for the morning, knowing that the marks on his neck will remind him of the night before. 

\-------

Type and Techno sit on the locker room bench before football practice, going over what they had learned that day. The two of them sit alone. 

“Does this make any sense to you?” Type turns to Techno, pointing at a problem on their math homework. “It’s not supposed to be negative, but that’s what I got.”

“So did I. Hold on. I was going to ask Champ, too,” Techno looks over to grab his own paper in his backpack when Type notices something on his neck. There’s a weird light spot on his neck, almost like he was wearing makeup. 

**_That’s a weird spot. And not at all his color._ **

Type’s eyes widen in realization, recognizing the familiar technique that he himself uses. 

**_Woah. Is that…?_ **

Techno can feel Type staring at him and he starts to get nervous.

“What are you looking at?” Techno snaps, trying to get him to stop. “It’s my neck, get over it."   


“You picked the wrong color, you dumbass,” Type mumbles, licking his thumb and wiping it on his neck. Techno cringes and his body tenses up.

“What are you doing?!” Techno shrieks in disgust. Type pulls up his concealer covered thumb to show Techno.

“You also got some shitty makeup,” Type raises an eyebrow. Techno realizes that his marks are exposed and slaps his neck. “I do it all the time, but I’m actually good at it. Tharn is ruthless.”

“This isn’t what it looks like!” he exclaims, blushing at Type’s words. He pulls the container out of his bag. Type glares at the mark when Techno isn’t looking. 

**_Why am I upset?_ **

“Oh-hoh,” Type chuckles, trying to ignore his random jealousness and digs around in his own bag for the concealer that he uses. Techno takes it from him, wiping the old makeup with his towel and applying Type’s lightly. “I think it’s  _ exactly  _ what it looks like. You found someone, huh?”

Techno closes his eyes in frustration. He continues putting it on. 

“It was a mistake, that’s what it was.”

**_Then why did you do it?_ **

“I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like you hated it if there are that many marks. You moved on from me pretty quickly,” Type snorts, hoping to play it off as a joke and not feel as upset. Techno looks super irritated and throws the makeup back in Type’s bag, showing off the hickeys proudly. He stands up and points at Type, glaring at him. 

“Don’t say something like that,” he grumbles. “You should be thanking me. And what I do is none of your business."

**_What?_ **

“I’m leaving you and Tharn alone, aren’t I? Let me do my thing,” he mumbles, putting his bag over his shoulder. 

Type is shocked at Techno standing up for himself, nodding and turning away.

“Sorry,” he says quietly, out of character. 

“I haven't started anything. Just drop it, Type."   


**_I don’t want to._ **

Techno leaves the room in a rush and Type sighs when the door closes. 

**_I didn’t mean to upset him._ **

He sits in silence for a few seconds until he replays his own thoughts. 

**_Wait a minute. What was all of that about?_ **

\-----

Type, Techno, and Champ eat together. Type is moving his food around on his plate, deep in thought. 

**_I don’t even feel that way._ **

Techno asks Type to come with him to run errands. Type stares at him while he drives.

**_He’s pretty, but I don’t feel that way._ **

Techno makes jokes when they’re in class. Type has to keep his laughter down to avoid distracting people. 

**_And funny._ **

Techno helps him out with homework.

**_And smart._ **

One night, Type and Tharn are cuddling in bed together, Tharn fast asleep. Type pets his hair. 

**_I wish he was here with us, too._ **

Type sits up at the thought, eyes wide. Tharn immediately wakes up. 

“Are you okay?” Tharn asks, sounding drowsy.

Type stares in front of him for a second before shaking his head. He then lays back down and turns away, leaving Tharn confused. He stares at the wall.

**_I can’t stop thinking about it._ **

\----

Tharn knows that Type is struggling with the idea. It’s obvious when something is bothering him. 

One morning, the two of them sit on their shared bed, Type looks distracted and tired, his eyes half open while Tharn puts on his socks. The two of them are silent until Tharn speaks and turns to look at him.

“Did you…” he starts, looking up before he realizes that Type isn’t even there. Not mentally. His eyes are on the comforter, obviously thinking about something. Tharn watches his eyes dart around the bed a little. 

**_I don’t feel that way. I don’t. Maybe. But I have Tharn, I’m okay with that. It’s weird to be with two people at once._ **

Tharn nudges his leg and he jumps, eyes wide. He realizes that he was spacing out and shifts, rubbing his face with one hand and sighing, finally looking at Tharn. 

“What’s wrong?” Tharn asks, reaching for Type’s hand. Type takes it away and looks at Tharn.

“I’m fine. What were you asking me?” Type stands up and picks up his backpack, putting it on the bed and taking things out for no reason at all. Tharn raises an eyebrow at him. Type shakes his head and Tharn sighs, biting his lip. 

“Is this about Tech?” Tharn asks.

“No,” Type immediately retorts with eyes wide. He then stares at the nightstand, a confused expression on his face. He sighs, his whole body caving into itself slightly, making him seem small. 

“I told you that you didn’t have to worry about it. You don’t have to think so hard, love,” Tharn coos, just loud enough for Type to hear. “What are you feeling?”

“I’m not,” Type raises his voice, pushing his bag on the bed and ignoring the anxious feelings inside of him. He walks towards the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”

Before getting a response from Tharn, Type is already in the bathroom. He starts getting undressed to distract himself. When he takes off his shirt, he pauses and leans against the door.

**_How am I not supposed to worry about it?_ **

Type’s head bumps into the door. 

**_I don’t know what to do._ **

\------

“Drink up, you guys!”

Techno is right back in the bar for the third time. The entire team raises their glasses to their captain who is standing up, the group cheering and taking sips of their drinks. Techno smiles softly in relief, putting his cup down. 

_ We made it through the first season. _

He sinks into his chair, content and relaxed from the alcohol in his hand. He swirls it around in the cup. Type sits next to him, conversing with another one of their teammates. Champ is next to Techno, watching his actions.

“You didn’t want to come, did you?” he whispers, leaning over into Techno’s ear.

“Not really,” Techno mumbles honestly. “You were there, you know he wanted me here.”

“You’re a grown-ass man, tell him no,” Champ laughs. Techno glares at him. 

“I’m aware, thank you,” Techno slaps his arm. It earns him another laugh. 

“I have a question.”

“Hm?” Techno nods at him and sips his drink.

“You have feelings for Type, don’t you?”

Techno inhales and starts coughing on his drink, putting his cup down and putting his arm over his mouth.   


_ Aghhhh. Why? Why do you know?  _

Techno doesn’t say anything, doesn’t answer the question. But he doesn’t have to. Champ sits back, knowing the answer and smirking. 

The entire team talks for a while, talking about old games and acting like teenagers. Soon, the entire team is gone except for Type, Techno, and Champ. Eventually, Champ stands up.

“I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be back,” Champ announces, patting Techno on the shoulder. Techno turns to watch him walk away. He sits uncomfortably in his chair, stretching and looking over at Type who’s completely hammered. He sits quietly, staring at the table and concentrating. 

“You good?” Techno nudges him, Type looking over at him. His eyes are unfocused. He smirks.

_ Apparently not. _

“I’m kind of trying not to throw up, but I’ll be fine,” Type giggles, going back to looking at the table. Techno nods and the two of them sit in semi-uncomfortable silence for a moment.

“Tech,” Type whispers, suddenly serious.    
  
Techno turns his head to look at Type.

“I know I’ll regret telling you this later, but I wouldn’t be able to bring it up to you sober.”

_ Oh, boy. Here we go. _

“Tharn knows. I know,” he looks down at his shoes. “What are we going to do about it?”

“Nothing, I’m going to figure it out and find someone else.”

“Nooooo…” Type puts a hand on his shoulder, his head on top of it. Techno freezes at the contact. “He told me I could be with you if I wanted to be.”

Techno can’t form words.

_ He didn’t. He wouldn’t let him go. _

“I’ve been thinking about it a little,” Type murmurs. That’s when Techno pushes Type off of him. 

“No,” Techno says, frustrated. Type looks shocked. “He loves you and you love him, don’t involve me in this and ruin your relationship. Don’t choose me over him.”

Type stares at him for a second, then looks down.

“You’re drunk, you don’t even know-”

“He asked if I wanted to be with both of you,” he blurts out. Techno doesn’t say anything.

_ This sounded like a good idea when Fah was explaining it. But I can’t do this. Not if I’m in between everything. _

“And while we’re on the subject, you should have just talked to me. Tharn said you were afraid of ruining things with me but...come on, Tech,” Type looks frustrated as well. “We agreed that we were here for each other, right?”

Techno looks up and sees Champ making his way towards them, turning to the bottle sitting in front of him and pouring a shot, sliding it in front of Type.

“Just keep drinking.”

“Techno-”

“Not now. Please,” Techno avoids eye contact and pours a shot of his own. He hits his glass against Type’s, a small clink ringing through the air. Type takes the shot and Techno throws his head back and takes his own. He stands up.

“I’ll see you later,” Techno says, going to leave, but Type grabs him by the shirt. Champ makes it to their table and looks at the two of them.

“I can’t drive,” Type murmurs, his head down. 

“For fuck’s sake,” Techno grumbles.

“I can take him,” Champ says.

“No, it’s okay,” Tharn immediately starts picking Type up off of his chair. He nods at Champ. “Let’s go.”

Champ looks them up and down, then whispers in Techno's ear. 

"Good taste in men, Tech," he laughs.

"No homo, I love you, but I will throw a bottle at you."

\-----

“Can you pick up your feet? Jesus. That last shot I gave you was a mistake.”   


Both of them are stumbling down the hallway of the dorms, trying to get to Type’s apartment. Techno is holding onto Type’s side, trying to fish the key to the apartment out of his pocket. Type opens his mouth to speak, but just stares at Techno. He pokes his chest.

“I don’t think I can stand,” Type giggles, leaning into Techno. He sighs, trying to adjust the two of them so Type doesn’t fall.

_ It’s weird to see him giggly. It’s kind of cute, though. _

“Why do you think I’m here? Make my job easier, please,” he grumbles. Even if it’s cute, he has no strength and it’s starting to get tiring. He fumbles with the key in the lock, finally turning it and opening the door. When the two of them get in the doorway, Techno loses his grip on Type, making him crash into the floor. He’s trying to be a good friend and not laugh, but he fails. He closes the door and squats down to the floor, still laughing, despite being slightly upset from their conversation before. 

“Shit, are you okay?” Techno says in between fits of laughter. Type just groans and gives him a thumbs up, causing more laughter. He sits in the hallway, leaning against the wall. 

“Tharn! Come help me with your man!” Techno yells out. Tharn’s head peeks into the hallway like he was already making his way over there. Tharn gives the two of them a concerned look.

“What happened?”

“He’s absolutely gone and I tried to get him in here but I kinda dropped him on the way,” Techno laughs at the memory. He goes to Type’s side again and starts to help him sit up, Tharn taking the other side. The three of them start to make their way over to the couch. When they get there, Type flops onto it, the two other men standing over him.

“Tech…” Type drags out his name, his speech slurred. “Let’s talk.”

Techno changes from amused to nervous at the words.

“Not now,” Techno murmurs. He pulls a blanket from the armrest and throws it over Type. 

“Yes, now. Tharn is here,” he gestures toward Tharn but then his arm drops onto himself. He turns over on the couch and starts to drift off to sleep, lightly snoring. Techno sighs and puts the key down on the coffee table. 

“Alright. Well, he’s okay. Sorry about throwing him on the floor. I’m going home,” Techno says, making his way to the doorway but Tharn grabs his arm. Techno looks down at the hand that’s holding him.

“Come here,” he whispers and pulls him toward the edge of Type and Tharn’s bed. Techno blushes and pulls them back a little.

“What are we doing?” 

“Even if he’s out of it, Type’s right,” Tharn says and sits down on the bed, Techno stands in front of him. He looks down at him. “Should we talk?”   
  
Techno pauses and tries to give a response, mouth opening and closing.

“I really don’t know,” he mumbles after a few seconds. Tharn nods in understanding.

“We don’t have to, but I think we should. Neither of you look like you’re handling the situation well,” he says, patting the spot next to him. Techno takes a seat, Tharn puts his arm around him. Techno leans into it without even thinking, wrapping his arms around Tharn. 

_ It’s weirdly comforting to talk to him.  _

“What did he tell you?” Tharn asks. Techno stares at the lump on the couch.

“He just...said that you gave him the option.”

“And?”   


“He said that he was thinking about it.”

Tharn nods.

“He wouldn’t talk to me about it,” Tharn says, also looking over to the couch. Type moves a little. “You know he’s been stressed. He’s not acting the same way anymore.”

“Yeah,” Techno agrees. Tharn looks at Techno like he’s expecting more. They stare at each other for a moment. 

“Would you be okay with this?”

“Hey, no,” Techno shakes his head and sitting up, already knowing what he’s talking about. “I’m not getting in the middle of your relationship.”

“That’s not what I mean. I trust you with him, Tech,” Tharn whispers. “He doesn’t seem to be opposed to the idea.”

Techno groans and lays down on the bed. Tharn keeps looking at him from the edge. 

“Plus, I think we trust each other enough that it would be okay.”

“I don’t know. Isn’t this weird?” Techno covers his eyes with his arm. 

“It’s not like we’re doing anything without each other knowing,” Tharn pats Techno on the leg. He nods.

“You’re right,” he says, thinking about it. Tharn watches him drift into thought. He gestures towards Type.

“Should we wait until he gets up?” Tharn asks. “You can stay here tonight, if you’d like.”

Techno nods and looks around the room.

“Um...Where?” he asks. Tharn throws him a pillow from his side of the bed. Techno catches it and looks at him.

“You can stay in his spot if you’re comfortable,” he turns off the light and lays in his own spot, patting Type’s side of the bed. “I don’t think he would mind.”

Techno’s too tired to care. 

\-------

Type shifts on the couch, still drowsy from the sleep. He groans softly at the slight headache that’s starting, making him slightly nauseous. He sits up and tries to ignore the feeling, seeing two figures on the bed. At first, he gets pissed about the fact that Tharn is sleeping with someone else, but quickly realizes it’s just Techno. Type stands up and slowly makes his way to the bed, careful not to wake the two men. The two of them aren’t touching, but they’re facing each other and are very close. Type smiles slightly at the sight and sits on the bed, just close enough for him to touch them. 

**_God, look at them._ **

Both of his hands reach out to touch the two of them, brushing hair out of their faces and stroking their cheeks. Techno stays sleeping, but Tharn leans into the touch, recognizing the hand. His eyes flutter open, noticing Techno’s face right next to him. He looks kind of surprised and looks up to see Type smiling softly, still petting Techno’s head.

**_You’re both so beautiful._ **

Tharn smiles as well. Type notices that he’s awake.

“I’m sorry,” Type starts, but Tharn shakes his head, sitting up and leaning into him. 

“Is he okay?” Type asks.

“He’s fine, we wanted to wait until you were awake to decide on everything. We just talked about a couple of things,” Tharn kisses his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Ugh, I don’t want to talk about it,” Type groans, hiccuping. Tharn leans over and grabs painkillers that are sitting on the nightstand and a bottle of water he brought to practice, handing them to Type. “My back hurts. Of all things.”

Tharn snorts. Type raises an eyebrow, but Tharn shakes his head.

“Thank you,” he says, swallowing them quickly and pulling away from Techno. He sighs.

“I think I figured it out,” Type whispers, looking at Techno again. Tharn smiles.

“How do you feel?”   


“Let’s do it,” Type nods, looking at him then back at Techno. “Let’s just...try it out at least.”

Techno starts to move on the bed, opening his eyes as well. He starts to get up, noticing that the two men are awake. 

“Sorry, I’ll move, I figured you would be-”

“Go back to sleep, Tech,” Type lightly pushes him back down onto the bed. Techno grunts.

“You’re not going back to the couch, are you?” Techno mumbles, rubbing his eyes. Type shakes his head, thinking for a second. 

“Can I sleep here? With both of you?” Type asks, looking between the two of them. “We can deal with everything in the morning.”

Tharn nods immediately and Techno’s eyes widen for a second, but he nods as well and turns over so that he’s facing away from the two of them and curled up in a ball. Type sighs, him and Tharn laying down as well. Type holds onto Tharn. 

_ I just want to hold him. _

Type gives a look to Tharn who reaches over his boyfriend and taps Techno. He turns his head.

“Are you mad at me?” Type asks against Tharn’s neck. Techno turns over, putting his hand over his back and rubbing slow circles over his shirt.

“Of course not,” Techno mumbles. “It’s just...scary. And tonight wasn’t the time to talk about it.” 

"You don't have to be scared, Tech," Tharn says. "It's just him. Actually, it's us."

Type nods. 

“Get over here,” Tharn whisper-yells to Techno to encourage him. Techno nods and slowly latches onto Type, wrapping his arms around his waist. He buries his face in Type’s shoulder, not looking at either of them. Tharn and Type give each other a knowing look, holding each other close. They close their eyes and bask in the comforting feeling.

**_This is...perfect._ **

Tharn reaches for Techno and runs his fingers through his hair a few times in reassurance, telling him it’s okay. He rests his arm over both of them. Techno nuzzles the boy in his arms, genuinely happy for the first time today. 

_ It’s so warm. _


	7. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. History4 is confirmed. There's drama going on with ChrisJake. There might be a MODC sequel. LBC is a little confusing, but it's getting better. Still2gether was the best. I'm Tee, Me Too is already great. Yeah. 
> 
> Hello all of you lovely people! There's a lot of stuff going on the BL community. But I'm alive, I finally finished this chapter. I was having a rough time deciding what to do, but I got it. I'm already planning and writing the next chapter. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy! If there are any mistakes or something doesn't make sense, please let me know so I can fix it! Just so you guys know, Tharn's thoughts are now the underlined italic text. 
> 
> Chapter song: "Paragraphs" by Luke Chiang

“Type, you’re okay.”

Techno wakes up to the sound of heart-breaking weeping accompanied by quiet whispers, not able to comprehend anything yet. He starts feeling around for the two men that were previously sleeping with him, only feeling slightly warm spots on the sheets. He finally touches a leg under his hand. He opens his eyes to see that he’s touching Tharn. Tharn’s cradling a hysterical Type in his arms, rocking him slowly and running his hands over his back. Tharn whispers in Type’s ear to soothe him. Type clings to him, gripping onto whatever he can. Right now, that’s the comforter below him and Tharn’s shirt. As the seconds pass, Type starts to become less frightened, the sobs becoming quieter. Techno shoots up off of the mattress.

“Type?” 

Tharn looks up, seeing Techno anxiously reach out for Type and tap him, not getting a response. He then looks at Tharn. 

“What happened?”

“He’s okay, he’s just having a nightmare.”

Techno shifts forward a little to see that Type’s eyes are squeezed shut.

“Shouldn’t you wake him up?” Techno asks, concerned for the boy. 

“It’s better to just let him get through it. Last time I woke him up, it kind of freaked him out. But if I just stay here, he wakes up eventually,” Tharn reassures him, going back to comforting Type.

Techno nods and brushes the hair out of Type’s face, wiping the tears away as he does. Type whimpers, continuing to call out for Tharn. 

“I’ll get a cloth for him, hold on,” Techno tells Tharn, getting a nod and a mumble of gratitude.

He gets up and opens a cabinet, grabbing a washcloth and turning on the sink, running the fabric under the steaming water. He turns off the tap and wrings it out, walking out of the bathroom. When he gets back on the bed, Techno runs the washcloth over Type’s eyes and face slowly, making sure that he's gentle.

Type breathes heavily, starting to stir in Tharn’s arms. After a couple minutes of the two of men slowly bringing him back to reality, Type finally opens his eyes, scanning his surroundings. Tharn notices the sudden change in Type’s behavior, knowing that he’s awake. 

“There you go. Hey, sweetheart,” Tharn breathes out and kisses the top of his head, speaking in such a relaxing tone. He adjusts the two of them so that Type is sitting up straight. Type gets a better grip on Tharn, burying his face in his neck. He starts to cry again, shaking. Techno continues to sit next to the two of them, watching Type closely. 

_ He looks so relieved. _

Techno doesn’t know what to do, so he rests his hand on the back of Type’s neck. The contact seems to soothe Type a little bit more. One of the hands gripping Tharn’s shirt reaches up and takes Techno’s hand. 

“Tech,” Type chokes out and Techno is automatically holding Type as well, awkwardly squished up against both Type and Tharn, but it works.

“We’ve got you, you’re safe,” Techno rubs circles on Type’s side.

Type ends up falling asleep in their arms after a few minutes of reassurance. Tharn and Techno look up at each other. 

“Does this happen a lot?” Techno questions as the two of them place Type back in bed, slowly lowering him onto the mattress. Tharn covers him back up, staring at the man. He puts his hand on Type’s face again. Even in an unconscious state, Type knows that it’s his boyfriend, smiling at the touch and relaxing even more. Tharn smiles sadly and pulls away, letting him rest.

“Not really. The last time it happened, we were at his parent’s place. The first time was before he told me about...you know. He only has them when he’s upset or he’s super stressed out,” Tharn mutters. Techno nods in understanding. 

“What do you think he’s stressed about?” Techno asks. Tharn pauses and looks at him, then gestures to the three of them, making a circle with his finger.

“Probably this,” Tharn mumbles. 

_ I knew this was a bad idea.  _

Tharn sees the guilty look on Techno’s face and starts to take it back, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Tech, we want this. I know you want it,” Tharn tilts his head towards Type. “We agreed to talk about it in the morning. He’s not worried about that. We had to talk about it and he thought I was leaving and he also didn’t know if he wanted to be with you. But he’s sure about it now, he knows what he wants and I’m going to support him with whatever he wants to do.”   
  
Techno starts to understand what he’s getting at.

“Sorry, this is just a lot,” Techno rubs his eyes in frustration and sighs.Tharn ruffles his hair, Techno’s heart rate starting to rise a little at the contact. 

“I know,” Tharn nods. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Techno ignores the affectionate moment between the two of them, turning over quickly and looking at the wall instead of the men beside him. He hears Tharn turn off the bedside lamp and he closes his eyes, gripping the sheets in his palm. 

_ I’ll take care of you, too. _

\-----

Techno wakes up to barely audible whispers. This time, he’s not woken up in panic. Tharn and Type are still on the bed next to him, sitting and talking quietly. He opens his eyes, Type immediately noticing that he’s awake. 

“Hey, Tech,” Type mumbles to him, patting on the empty spot next to him and Tharn. “Come talk to us for a second.”

_ His voice is so soft.  _

“Hi,” Techno grunts, pulling himself up to sit cross-legged on the spot where Type wanted him, facing the two men. 

“Do you want something to eat?” Tharn asks, but Techno just shakes his head and stretches out. 

“No, thank you.”

Tharn hums. The three of them look at each other for a moment before Type clears his throat.

“Should we...figure this out?” he questions, messing with his shirt to distract himself. Techno gives him a look, narrowing his eyes at him.

_ Are we just going to ignore what happened last night? _

“Type, what about-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Type grumbles, not even making eye contact with Techno. Techno is taken aback. “I know what you’re going to ask, it’s fine. It just happens.”

_ I’m not going to drop that, but he’s not going to answer anything about it right now.  _

Techno sighs and looks up out of frustration, but starts the conversation that he’s here for.

“Do you have feelings for me, Type?” Techno decides to just get straight to the point. Type nods. Tharn watches over them. 

“Yeah, I really do. But I don’t want to leave Tharn-”

“You don’t have to,” Tharn interrupts.

“You get jealous super easily. Is this even something that you’re okay with?” Techno interrogates him right off the bat. Tharn shakes his head. 

“Like I told Type, I don’t care who it is, no one will ever have him. But I trust you,” Tharn looks at Techno with a caring expression. “I know that you wouldn’t try to take him away from me. I know how hard you’ve been trying to get over it. I know you'll be okay with him." 

Type and Techno are satisfied with that answer.

“We can be together and I’ll be with him. You and Techno don’t have to do anything,” Type says to Tharn. Techno didn’t really think about that part, he just assumed that it would be him and Type while Type was still with Tharn. Tharn and Techno look at each other up and down, not really sure how to bring up the subject. Tharn’s face is blank.

_ I couldn’t tell you what emotion Tharn feels right now. _

“It’s just us, right?” Type asks, gesturing to himself and Techno. As he asks this, Techno can swear that he sees Tharn’s face become a little disappointed, but he quickly recovers and grins widely at the two of them. 

_ What was that? _   
  
“Yeah, just you guys. I think this is going to work out for you,” Tharn wraps his arm around Type who just blushes and looks down. Techno stares at his…

_ Boyfriend? Is that what he is now? _

“We’ll figure out the whole ‘taking him on dates’ stuff later, okay?” Tharn tells Techno. “All three of us can go out, too. You can stay here whenever you want, we don’t mind.”

“Thank you,” Techno closes his eyes and smiles. 

“So it’s official?” Tharn looks between the two of them in anticipation, looking like an ecstatic puppy. 

_ That was a weird shift. Weren’t you upset at first? _

Type smiles sheepishly, still looking at the living room floor and fiddling with his fingernails. He finally looks up at Techno, asking the question silently. Techno stops thinking for a second to give an answer.

“Yeah,” Techno finally chokes out after a few seconds. He puts Type’s hand in his. “Yeah. Let’s do this.”   
  
Type nods and the two of them look up expectantly at Tharn, not even sure what they’re expecting from him. He just smiles again and leans over to kiss Type softly on the lips.   
  
“Congratulations,” he whispers to them. Type can’t stop looking down, but Techno can see the smirk on his face, barely visible. All of the stress and fear is taken off of Techno’s shoulders, making him feel so much better. 

_ He’s mine. He’s...ours. It’s so perfect.  _

\-----

It’s perfect for a little bit. Then, the nightmares start happening. Again. And again. And again.

Techno decides to stay with them for a week after they decide what they want to do. After a lot of awkward questioning from his mother and Technic, he finally gets them to believe that he’s staying with his friends. The three of them sleep in Tharn and Type’s bed, deciding that they’re usually on top of each other anyway, so it doesn’t matter that the bed is a little too small. 

It’s very nice at first. But every night, Techno is woken up by sobbing and screaming from Type and a distressed Tharn trying to comfort him. The second night, Techno is shocked that it’s happening again. 

_ I thought he would be fine if we sorted everything out.  _

When the three of them finally have time together, Techno tries to ask about it, but Type just changes the subject and doesn’t talk about it at all. Techno gives up trying to ask about it. 

After the 5th night of nightmares, all three of them are exhausted. Type drags himself out of bed because he has a morning class, leaving Tharn and Techno alone for the first time since they had their conversation. Techno sits on the floor against the couch while Tharn sits at the dining table. They work on their own things after he leaves, not really having anything to talk about. They’re also super tired, so they couldn’t even if they wanted to.

This doesn’t mean that Techno isn’t lost in his thoughts. 

_ What were you dreaming about? If you don’t usually do that unless you’re stressed, what’s making you have nightmares all the time?  _

“Tharn,” Techno says firmly after an hour, scaring Tharn. He jumps a little and looks up from his laptop where he’s been typing his work for class. 

“Yes?” Tharn clicks a few times before closing it and putting it on the dining table, giving Techno his undivided attention. He looks like he already knows what Techno wants to talk about.. Techno puts his phone down as well, staring at the wall behind Tharn. 

“What the hell?” he chuckles sadly and puts his hands over his face in frustration, close to tears.

Tharn picks himself up off of his chair, walking over to the stressed out boy. He squats in front of him and pulls his hands away. When Techno looks at him, Tharn’s eyes are filled with tears as well. The two of them stare at each other for a second before being pulled into a hug by the other. 

“I don’t like seeing him like that. He won’t even talk to me about it. I just want to help him, Tharn,” Techno sobs, his hands in fists on Tharn’s back. Tharn sniffs and pets his hair. 

“I know,” Tharn mumbles. “He won’t tell me, either. I tried asking. We just have to let him tell us.”

_ Tharn has always been good at talking Type down. He’s good at talking me down, even when we aren’t in a weird couple arrangement.  _

The two of them pull away, finally getting a good look at each other. Tharn wipes his face a little, his other hand wiping the tears off of Techno’s cheeks. Techno notices that Tharn’s eyes have been half open every time he’s seen him. 

_ He looks so tired.  _

“Why don’t you take a nap?” Techno asks, giving Tharn a comforting smile while trying not to cry again, both about his boyfriend’s problems and the fact that Tharn is taking it harder than he is. 

“I have a paper due next week and I need to clean and I really need to do laundry and-” Tharn starts rambling, but Techno cuts him off. 

“Tharn, hey,” he interrupts, grabbing Tharn’s hand. He almost seems comforted by the gesture. “You have a week to finish your work and it sounded like you got a good start. The cleaning and the laundry can be done tonight if you really need it to be. We’ve had a long week. Go sleep for a little bit.”

Tharn thinks about it for a second before nodding slowly, but he doesn’t move. Instead, he looks down to where Techno is still holding his hand. Techno knows that this is probably weird, but he can’t bring himself to move, either. 

“Tharn,” Techno whispers, putting his hand on his face to get him to finally look up. “What are you thinking about?”

“I don’t even know, Tech,” Tharn mumbles. They continue to stare at each other, not saying a word. Tharn reaches up to touch Techno’s face as well. Techno closes his eyes and leans into it. 

“Thank you for doing this with us,” Tharn whispers. “I know it's kind of rough and he can't tell you this, but I think he’s happy about it.   


“Thank you, too. You guys could have cut me off completely and you didn’t. I’m very grateful,” Techno tells him sincerely. Tharn’s eyes flicker to Techno’s lips and back again, but he looks like he’s debating with himself. As much as he wants to let Tharn hold him, Techno feels guilty.

_ What are we doing? We didn’t agree on this. We’re friends, we just share a boyfriend. _

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what Type said. About the two of us."   
  
“Let’s just sleep until he comes back,” Techno totally disregards his statement and pulls away from Tharn completely, standing up. Tharn just stares at him in surprise when he offers a hand to pull him off of the floor. Tharn looks kind of disappointed and angry, shaking his head and getting up himself, crawling into bed immediately and covering himself with the blanket.

Techno just stares at him from across the room, eventually falling asleep in the same bed. He hopes the nap will get rid of the sadness and guilt that he feels. 

_ I don’t know what I feel for you, Tharn. _

\----

Type comes home to a very familiar scene. 

As an apology for the past few nights, he bought lunch for Tharn and Techno. He was hoping that they wouldn’t ask questions if he fed them and apologized. When he walks in with the bags of food, he looks to the bed to see the two men cuddled up and sleeping. They’re both on their side, Techno’s head on Tharn’s chest. Tharn holds him close. Type feels a wave of guilt wash over him as he puts the food down in the living room.   
  
**_They must be exhausted. They’re suffering more than I am._ **

Type’s guilt fades away a little when he stares at them. Techno and Tharn look so content and relaxed in this position. He can’t help but take it in and smile at the sight.

**_You two are more comfortable with each other than you’ll admit._ **

Type crawls on the bed and sits in front of them. He ruffles Techno’s hair softly, waking the boy from his deep sleep. 

“Hi,” Type whispers when Techno finally opens his eyes. “I didn’t want to wake you up, but I brought you guys lunch.” 

Techno inhales deeply, leaning his head into Tharn’s chest. He notices that the two of them were wrapped up together and sits up quickly, Tharn’s arms still wrapped around him. The two of them decided to sleep before Type came home and he’s not quite sure how they ended up in this position together, but he liked it. Not that he’ll admit it. He pokes Tharn’s face. 

“Tharn,” Techno draws out the name. Tharn shifts and opens his eyes. His arms are wrapped around Techno and his eyes widen at the sight. He see his two boyfriends staring-

_ Boyfriend and friend. He’s not yours. _

Tharn shakes his head, sitting up as well and ignoring how warm he feels. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Techno gives some kind of half-assed response to tell him that it’s okay. 

Type looks between the two of them. 

**_Why are you being awkward now?_ **

“I...brought food,” Type gestures to the table, getting expressions of gratitude from both Tharn and Techno. They get up off of the bed, making their way to the living room where they sit around the coffee table. Type starts to pull out boxes, plates, and utensils out of the bags that are sitting there. They’re still quiet and staring off into space, so Type decides to start talking.    
  
“I brought this because I wanted to apologize for all of the nonsense. I brought your favorites,” Type starts distributing food out to the boys. Techno and Tharn start to reassure him.

“Type, you don’t have to apologize,” Tharn says softly, reaching out to touch his hand. 

“You really don’t,” Techno agrees. “We appreciate it, but you know we don’t mind helping you. We’re here for you.”   
  
Type ignores the burning in his eyes at those words, sitting down by the table and putting the bags on the floor. 

“You really need to talk to us,” Techno whispers. “Tharn said we should let you come to use, but please. I don’t know what you’re having dreams about or if you’re stressed out. Talk to us and we can figure it out.”

Type nods, but doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. 

“I…” he starts. “I’ve been having dreams about us.”

Techno and Tharn blink.    
  
“About us?” Techno asks, confused. 

“I always dream about the two of you leaving. Sometimes it’s one of you, sometimes it’s both of you.” I have had ones where you’re hurting me and it’s so frightening,” Type finally admits. The other two men wait for an explanation, expressions of hurt and sympathy on their faces. “I’m just worried about how this is going to work out. What if you decide that this isn’t for you, Tech? Or Tharn isn’t happy with the arrangements that we made or we start fighting because of it and we all stop talking. You know I love you guys as friends, even without all of the romantic-”   
  
“Type,” Tharn and Techno say at the same time. Tharn takes over. “If we ever have a problem, we’ll deal with it like adults. You and I are okay. I’m happy with this. I’m happy that you’re happy. You know we would never hurt you.”   
  
“I like being with you guys here,” Techno adds on. “I don’t mind hanging out with Tharn. I like being with you.”

Type’s mouth opens and closes a few times before he nods.    
  
“Okay,” Type says. “You know I get scared about that stuff.”

“I know, love. But we figured it out, right?” Tharn asks. 

“Yeah, we did,” Type confirms. 

“If we run into a problem, we’ll talk and sort it out,” Techno reassures him, also saying it to Tharn. Tharn starts to think about his own issues. 

“Yeah,” he whispers. Techno looks at him for a second.

“Alright. Well, I’m sorry. Let’s eat,” Type says, opening his box of food. Techno starts thinking about what happened before Type came home, Tharn’s words repeating in his head over and over. Tharn looks like he’s thinking about things, too. Type looks between the two of them, knowing that something is wrong, but he decides to leave it alone. The three of them eat in semi-uncomfortable silence.

\------

“I’m gonna throw up.”   


“No, you won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Baby, it’s okay. It’s just Techno.” 

“Tharn, I’m so nervous.”

Type adjusts his shirt in the mirror for the eighth time, Tharn standing behind him and removing his boyfriend’s nervous hands from his shirt. After they finally got some rest and some nice nights together without nightmares, Techno and Type had finally decided to go on a date by themselves to see how it would go. Tharn was silently grateful for that. 

“Is this how you were before we went on our first official date?” Tharn questions, earning a glare from the mirrored version of the boy.

“Shut up,” Type grumbles, pulling his hands away from Tharn and starting to mess with his hair. 

“You look great,” he mumbles to him sweetly, pressing a kiss to the right side of his neck. He wraps his arms around Type. “You’re going to love it. I got a little preview of what you’re doing tonight.” 

“A preview? You guys don’t even talk when we’re together, do you two talk behind my back?” Type raises his eyebrow. 

Tharn isn’t surprised about Type noticing that. Tharn knows that he and Techno haven’t really talked since they cuddled that one day. For right now, they don’t talk about anything other than Type. The “preview” was a quick text that Techno sent to ask Tharn if his plans were okay and if Type would like them. Tharn hasn’t gotten him out of his mind. 

_ I thought maybe we were figuring something out, but maybe not. Everything is awkward now.  _

Tharn doesn’t say any of this. He just chuckles to hide his emotions. 

“That’s not an answer. You two have been acting weird,” Type grumbles. 

“You better finish up quickly,” Tharn warns, still pretending to laugh. Type checks his phone for the time, getting a text from Techno to tell him that he was outside.

“Shit, you’re right. I lost track of time,” Type scrambles to put his wallet, keys, and phone back in his pocket, leaning over to Tharn to kiss him. 

“Love you,” Type says quickly. “Text me if you go out or if you need anything.”   
  
“Yeah, don’t worry. Go have fun, sweetheart,” Tharn grins. Type smiles back and nods, grabbing his jacket off of the couch and walking out the door. Tharn flops down on his back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

_ I'm sorry, Tech. _

\-----

Techno drives Type out to a park, getting out before Type and opening the trunk. Type gets out of the car as well, leaning over to see what he brought. Type sees Techno pull out a blanket, a cooler, and a pack of beer. Type smiles widely.

“We’re having a picnic?” Type questions with a large grin on his face. “You’re really romantic, aren’t you?”

“Tharn said you weren’t really into fancy dates, so I thought this would work. Plus, we like drinking,” Techno laughs, lifting the pack of beer. Type shakes his head, chuckling as well.

“You’re right about that,” he says, taking stuff from Techno to carry. The two of them find a gazebo to set up their little date, putting down a blanket and starting to unpack the cooler. 

The two of them talk for a few hours, eating and enjoying each other’s company. They take photos to show Tharn later and have fun drinking and eating. As it gets dark, the two of them pack up their stuff, cleaning up their trash. They make their way to the edge of the river and place the cooler down, sitting next to each other. It’s super dark now, the lights along the bridge lighting up and illuminating the two of them enough that they can still look at each other. The lake reflects the light, making it a black and gold stream. The two of them look at the stars and giggle like small children. All of a sudden, Type leans into Techno. 

“This was perfect, Tech. Thank you,” Type mutters, his arms around Techno and cuddling into his side. Techno is slightly shocked at the contact, but he openly invites Type into his hold. 

“I’m so happy you enjoyed it,” Techno kisses the top of Type’s head without thinking and Type freezes a little. Techno realizes his mistake and stumbles over his words a little out of shock. 

“Ah, I’m sorry!”    


All of a sudden, Type is holding himself up and his hand is already on Techno’s. He traces his knuckles, causing Techno to stop talking immediately. They stare for a few seconds, Type leaning in slowly. Techno swallows out of nervousness. 

“Type?” he asks breathlessly, not quite sure what’s happening. Type smiles softly at him.

_ What the hell? I’ve never seen him be so gentle. Is this how he is with Tharn on a good day? _

“Can I kiss you?” Type whispers close to Techno’s face, causing Techno to get even more nervous. Type notices the change in behavior. “If not, it’s totally-”

Techno quiets him by pulling his chin up with his finger and lightly placing his lips on his, finally doing what he’s been wanting to do for weeks. Techno is shocked by his own actions. 

_ Oh. _

Nothing could have ever prepared him for this feeling. The fantasies and the imagining could never compare to what he feels. Type’s lips are so soft and he’s so coordinated in his movements that it makes Techno feel like an inexperienced teenager. In a few seconds, Type is laying on the grass with Techno towering over him, but they never break away. The kissing never gets more intense, either. They find a comfortable pace with each other, silently asking the other if they’re okay. Type wraps his arms around Techno’s neck, trying to get as close to him as possible. When they finally break away, Techno finally opens his eyes to see a light blush on Type’s cheeks. 

_ How cute.  _

“You’re blushing,” Techno giggles.

“You’re annoying,” Type says, but he’s lying. He laughs as well. 

The two of them embrace each other on the grass floor, not paying attention to time. They take in every feeling in that moment. Type pulls out his phone at one point to take a picture and sends it on the group chat between him and his boyfriends, getting a heart back from Tharn. 

“We should go, sweetie,” Techno tries out the pet name, Type blushing even more than he did before.    
  
**_You and Tharn with the names. I can’t handle that._ **

“Yeah,” he mutters, standing up and offering a hand to Techno.    
  
In the car back home, Techno sends the photo of him and Type to Fah.

**Techno: IMG_38974**

**Techno: :’)**

**Fah: So cute! I’m sure you’re happier kissing him than me lol**

Techno smiles to himself and blushes at the memory of kissing Fah at the bar.

**Techno: No offense, but yeah.**

When he clicks out of his messages with her, he sees Tharn’s name in his recent messages and freezes. 

_ He hasn’t told Type yet, has he? Does he have feelings for me? Do I have feelings for him? What are we going to do? I don’t want to choose between him and Type. I don’t want them to fight because of me. It shouldn’t be a problem considering what we’re doing, but it’s just a lot and I don’t even know what- _

“Tech?”   
  
Techno is pulled out of his thoughts by Type calling his name. He turns his phone off and throws it in the cupholder. He sighs, then turns to Type and smiles. 

“Sorry, I was checking something.”

“What were you thinking about?” Type asks, putting his hand on Techno’s leg. Techno stays silent.

“Tech, you’ve been acting weird. So has Tharn. Did something happen between you guys?” Type asks softly, still causing Techno to become anxious. 

“Can we talk about this later?” Techno mutters.

“Did he hurt you? I can’t imagine him doing that, but if he did, I’ll kick his ass,” Type says seriously.

“No, no. You know he wouldn’t. I just need to think about some stuff,” Techno gives a simple explanation, resting his head on the steering wheel. Type nods in understanding. He gives him a comforting smile and pets his head. 

“I think you should tell him that,” Type whispers. Techno pulls his head up.

"You already know what I'm talking about, don't you?" Techno questions. Type traces the cheekbones on his face.   


“Neither of you are good at hiding your emotions."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the next chapter or chapter 9 will be the last of this story, not including the extra stuff, so I would like a favor from you guys if you don’t mind. I have a poll up on my Twitter with a list of shows that I would consider making something a fic for, so please vote for what you would like from me next! I would even do anime that I’ve seen. You can even comment what you would like to read next on this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading!


	8. Renegotiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. I am so sorry for the delay, I've had a crazy couple months that are starting to pick up again, but I am back and I'm hoping to start publishing more soon, but we'll see how that goes. I was super determined to finish this by the end of the year. 
> 
> Some good news, I made both of the groups I auditioned for and can now audition for a third later in the year. I also caught up with some people I haven't talked to in a while. :)
> 
> I hope you all had a nice holiday season and I hope that you all have a better 2021. Thank you all for your continued support and the constant comments, they really kept me motivated while trying to power through this. This is the first fic that I've written with multiple chapters and I'm so glad that people enjoyed it. If you've stuck around since the beginning, I thank you with all of my heart, I recognize your names when you comment a lot and it's cool to see people that i've seen since the start. If you're new, I also thank you from the bottom of my heart as well and hope that you enjoyed the story. This was just a way to share my love for BL through writing. With that being said, here is the last chapter. 
> 
> (If you have opinions about TTTSS2 and will be respectful, I'd love to hear it in the comments! I've been loving it so far, it's cool to see Tharn and Type living their domestic marriage life. And I missed baby Techno, he's so much more confident and carries himself well this season. The rest of the boys are phenomenal actors and it's been a great ride so far.)
> 
> Chapter song: Colour Me In Gold by JP Cooper

The ride home is dead silent. 

Techno focuses on the road, trying not to let his mind drift. His hands grip the steering wheel tightly, like they’ll slip if he doesn’t.    
  
_ We’re only a couple minutes away from their apartment, I can do this. I have to ask for some time apart. We need it.  _

“I can hear you thinking,” Type mumbles. “It’s really not that big of a deal. Why don’t you come stay the night with us? I’m sure he’d be happy to see you, too.”    
  
“No. And he wouldn’t, I haven’t really talked to him in a while. All we talked about was you,” Techno responds, almost silently. Type opens his mouth to speak and decides to not say anything, settling into his chair and looking out the window. 

“What even happened, Tech?” Type asks calmly.

“It’s not that big of a deal, you said it yourself,” Techno snaps. Type gives him a look and he knows that Type is mad.

“I just asked a question,” Type growls back. Techno sighs. 

“He just held me and I thought we were going to kiss, so I just got up and didn’t acknowledge it. Tharn was mad and then apparently we cuddled when we were sleeping. That’s when you came home,” Techno mumbles. Type nods, less angry.

“That’s all you had to tell me,” Type mumbles. Techno sighs as he pulls into the parking lot of Type's apartment building.

  
“I think I need some space,” Techno mumbles after a few moments of Type staring at him in anticipation. He closes his eyes, knowing that Type is probably pissed. And after a few seconds of deafening silence, he finds out that he’s right. 

“Are you kidding me?”

“Type-”

“I’m telling you that it’s fine and you’re not listening. If you two have something, it’s not a big deal, you’re freaking out for no reason-”

“Type,” Techno barks, his voice firm and loud. It startles Type. Techno sees the other man’s shocked expression and closes his eyes again in frustration, his voice becoming small and timid. “Let me finish, please.”

**_I’ve never heard him talk like that._ **

“I’m confused, Type,” Techno admits, his voice still tense. “I was really scared when that happened. I was scared that you didn’t know about it. I thought him and I just had a friendly relationship and I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

The intimidating version of Techno doesn’t last very long, he’s not like that. His jaw clenches as he starts to get overwhelmed. Type’s anger turns into sympathy, his eyes becoming soft. He puts a hand on Techno’s knee. Techno is starting to become more choked up as he speaks, his hands gripping the wheel. He keeps his head down. 

“I know that Tharn feels something for me. I need to figure out if I feel that or if it’s because we’re with you. I don’t know the answer to that yet,” Techno continues. “Let’s say that I don’t. Is it going to be weird for all of us to be together because we’re still dating you? Do I have to stop seeing both of you?”

“Tech,” Type whispers. “You know that Tharn would handle it like an adult. He would be fine with whatever you wanted.  _ I _ would be fine with whatever the two of you wanted. That’s what I’m telling you. You’ve never been in the way, we love having you and I love getting to know you more. This can work, but you also need to communicate, that was the whole point of this."

“I have been communicating, I don’t know what I feel. I need time away from you two to think about it,” Techno whimpers, ignoring Type’s statement. He finally picks his head up, releasing his vice grip on the steering wheel and putting his hand over Type’s. “I just…I need time. I don't like being in the way. I don't think Tharn would even like to deal with me right now."

Type opens and closes his mouth repeatedly, hesitating.

“How long do you want?” he finally asks. 

**_If I actually had a choice, I’d tell you no._ **

“I’ll just tell you when I’m ready, I guess,” Techno whispers. He suddenly becomes quiet before talking again. “Can I have a hug before I go, though?”   
  
Type’s chest hurts a little at those words, but he nods. Techno wordlessly unbuckles his seatbelt and wraps his arms around Type, the two boys holding each other for a few minutes. 

\-----

Type closes the door to their apartment, his limbs heavy. When he walks in, he’s greeted with Tharn sitting on the floor by their coffee table, eating some kind of instant meal. Type can’t tell what it is from where he’s standing. Tharn is alerted by the sound, his head turning to look at his boyfriend, who’s obviously not as happy as he should be, considering he just went on a date. He looks tired and disappointed.

“Love, what happened?” Tharn asks, his eyebrows furrowing. He puts down his fork and motions for Type to sit next to him, reaching out to him. Type sits down and curls into his side, gripping onto Tharn’s shirt. Tharn holds him for a moment before Type starts talking. 

“He wants a break,” Type finally says it, causing Tharn to become more confused. 

“What are you talking about?” Tharn questions. Type sits up with a little help from Tharn and chuckles sadly. 

“Everything was great and he was so good to me and we kissed and it was perfect. We were in the car and he told me that he doesn’t want to see us for a while. He said that he needs time to think about things between the two of you and that you 'probably don't want to deal with him.'" Type uses air quotes as he says this.

Tharn looks at him in surprise.

“He told you that?”

“Why didn’t the two of you talk to each other? Or me? I knew something happened,” Type responds, sitting up. Tharn looks lost for words, not sure how to respond to that. He looks down. 

“You knew?” Tharn asks.    
  
“Of course I knew!” Type’s sadness mixes with irritation. “You two didn’t talk for a little bit, I‘m not stupid. I had to ask him about it. I’m not upset that something happened, I already knew this would happen the minute we agreed to everything. I’m upset that you two didn’t talk things out. Wasn’t that your whole thing when we started doing this with him? That we all needed to communicate with each other?”

Tharn looks at him for a moment before closing his eyes. 

“You’re completely right. And I’m sorry, it’s my fault that he wants time away from us,” Tharn apologizes, rubbing Type’s side with his hand. Type sighs. 

“It’s not. I just...I don’t know.”

Type goes back to Tharn’s side and cuddles with him while Tharn finishes his food, the two of them completely silent and thinking about their boy.

\------

Techno isn’t doing much better.

It’s early enough that Techno doesn’t want to go to bed, but it’s late enough that Technic and their mom are asleep on the couches by the TV, a sitcom playing quietly in the background. Techno tries to walk into the house quietly, making sure not to drag his feet even though his entire body feels like he has to push himself to even stand. 

Techno looks over at the two of them and sees that they’re uncovered, curled up into themselves in their respective places. He unfolds a blanket that’s next to Technic and puts it over him, his brother barely stirring. Techno doesn’t see another blanket, so he takes off his hoodie and puts it over his mom, who actually opens her eyes after a few seconds. 

“Hey,” she mumbles, her voice still laced with fatigue. She sits up and wraps the jacket around her more, then pats the spot next to her and scoots over so that Techno can sit next to her. Techno plops down and sighs, leaning his head against the back of the couch. She runs her fingers through his hair and Techno leans into the contact, his head shifting a little. 

“Did you go out with friends?” Techno’s mom asks suddenly. Techno opens his eyes and looks at her, nodding. 

“Yeah, I just went out with Type,” Techno mumbles. “We were at the park.”

“That boy,” she sighs, but smiles. “He’s got a mouth on him, but he’s a good kid.”

Techno smiles sadly at those words, thinking about his own words in the car.

“Yeah,” he whispers. His mom stares for a second.    
  
“Are you okay?” She asks, finally pulling her hand away. Techno stares off for a second before completely sitting up. 

_ Do I...tell her? _

“Tech?”

“Mom, I need to tell you about something,” Techno rushes out, not looking at her. She stays silent and he knows that she’s just waiting for him to get on with it. 

_ Here goes. _

“I like men and women,” he finally gets out.

All of a sudden, Technic shoots up from the chair.

“Wait, you what?” Technic shouts, getting a pillow to the head in response. Technic throws it back at Techno and the two glare at each other.

“Go back to sleep, I’m talking to Mom!” 

“Boys,” she warns, the two of them sinking back into their spots. “You two never grow up.”

Techno looks down again and Technic stays quiet, knowing that this is not the time. 

“Are you mad?” Techno mumbles, fiddling with his hands. All of a sudden, he’s enveloped in a hug and he feels completely safe. 

“Of course I’m not. You’re allowed to love whoever you want to love,” she says, kissing the top of his head.

“Cool, now that that’s out of the way-” Techno says quietly, before being interrupted by Technic.

“You’re dating Type, aren’t you?” 

Techno just blushes a light red. 

“Oh-hoh,” their mom giggles, pulling away from the hug and leaning over to see Techno’s face, which he just covers. “I...wasn’t expecting that. That’s cute.”

“Are you really?” Technic laughs. “Damn, that’s an odd little pairing. Kla’s gonna be crushed.”

“Watch it,” Techno warns, finally pulling his hands away. 

“How did that even happen?” Technic asks. “I thought he was dating that other guy. Tharn? That’s his name, right? Or are they just friends?”

That’s when Techno gets silent again.

“Wait, is he cheating on that guy with you?” Techno’s mom asks, her face dropping. “Oh, Tech. You know you can’t be doing that.”   
  
“No, no, it’s not like that,” Techno sighs, rubbing his face out of nervousness. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. I’m dating him, but his boyfriend knows about it, we all talked about it, it’s all good.”

Slight pause.   


“Well. Good for you I guess?” Their mom raises an eyebrow at him, breathing out a laugh. “If you’re afraid that I won’t accept it, it’s fine as long as they know.”

“I kind of want Tharn too,” Techno finally chokes out. 

“You want to date both of them?” she asks, kind of shocked and genuinely curious. 

“Type wasn’t enough, huh?” Technic snorts. 

“Of course he’s enough, he’s so…” Techno trails off, biting his lip. “Tharn and I have been having some tension lately, I guess you could call it that. Like I was at their house and we just had this moment-”

“I don’t think we should hear about that,” Techno’s mom interrupts, putting her hand up.

“Nothing like  _ that  _ happened,” Techno laughs, his tone quickly going back to the way it was. “But anyway, it got really awkward after that and we didn’t talk much. I just want to make sure that I actually feel that for Tharn too and that it’s not just because him and I share a boyfriend,” Techno explains. Both Technic and their mom nod their heads in agreement. 

“I get that. Just do what you need to, kiddo,” Techno’s mom grabs his hand and he smiles softly, feeling a lot calmer. “Is that why you’re upset?”

“Yeah, I kind of told Type after a date and I know that’s awful, but I had to,” Techno says.    


“That was kind of a dick move, but okay,” Technic sighs. “You couldn’t have waited a day or two?”   


Techno just shakes his head and stays silent.

“It was a dick move,” their mom agrees, nodding.

“Mom.”   
  
“But I understand why you did and it’s okay. If you like both of them, you might as well date both of them since you’re already in that anyways. Take your time to think about it,” she continues. After she finishes her sentence, Techno’s phone dings in his pocket. He sits up to pull it out, seeing a text from Tharn. 

**Tharn: Sleep well, let us know when you’re ready. Please don’t stress out too much.**

Techno leaves him on read throwing his phone on the table in front of him. 

“I will.”

\------

Type gave Techno exactly what he asked for, which was space. Champ didn’t really understand what was going on, but Type and Techno didn’t feel the need to tell him anything. 

“Hey, No! Do you want to get dinner?”

“I’m good, thanks.”   
  
“Techno, we should go out tonight!”

“My mom needs me home.”

Techno keeps his distance from the two of them, concentrating on his work when they sit together in class and only talking to Type when he needs to. For the first few days, Champ is the one trying to get the two of them to engage in a conversation, but the two of them stay silent unless they’re alone with him. When Champ fails yet again to get Techno to hang out with him and Type, he flops back into his chair, watching Techno be the first one to leave their classroom, his bag in hand. The rest of the students stick behind and chat with their friends, much like Champ and Type. Champ’s mouth is open, but he doesn’t say anything, gesturing to the door that the boy just walked out of. 

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Champ finally asks Type in disbelief, then chuckles. “When you mention a meal, he’s usually ready to go before you even finish your sentence.”

Type stays silent, playing with the straps on his backpack. Champ suddenly gets serious. 

“Wait, is he okay?” Champ questions. Type raises an eyebrow. 

“How should I know?” Type mutters. He’s really upset that Techno won’t even look at him, but…

**_This is what we have to do._ **

Champ shrugs.

“I’m just asking, you two have gotten pretty close,” Champ argues. His eyes suddenly widen in realization. Type raises his eyebrow again. 

“What?” Type questions. 

“He told you, didn’t he? And he’s freaking out about it?” 

Type starts racking his brain, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. 

**_He doesn’t mean..._ **

“You know about us?” Type points at Champ, shocked that Techno would even tell Champ anything about his relationship with Type, let alone all of the confusion he’s having with Type’s boyfriend. Champ’s jaw drops. 

“So he did tell you. Techno, you idiot,” Champ sighs, putting his head in his hands and shaking his head. “Did you tell Tharn?”

Type just raises an eyebrow at him.    
  
“Why would I have to tell him? They already talked, Tech needs time to figure out what he feels for Tharn and that’s it,” Type says simply. Champ furrows his eyebrows.

“What?” Champ asks.

“He didn’t tell you that part?” Type turns back to his bag, putting away his textbook and pens. “Tech and I went on our date and he asked me for space because he wanted to figure out if he felt anything for Tharn. But I was upset because I want to be around him, it was just a mess. So I’m trying to keep my distance and let him come to me.”

**_Even talking about it makes me sad._ **

Type is looking in front of him, so he doesn’t see Champ’s face of absolute shock. After a few moments of silence, Type starts to wonder what’s going on and finally makes eye contact with Champ. 

“What the absolute fuck are you talking about?” Champ finally chokes out. Type tilts his head. 

“Wait, what were you asking me about?” 

“I wanted to know if Techno told you that he has feelings for you. Apparently he did.”    


**_Oh._ **

“I need you to explain everything that you just said to me.”

**_Oh, shit._ **

"Uh," Type’s mouth just opens and closes a few times before swallowing, Champ waits for him to continue. Type finally sighs. 

“I’m dating Techno,” Type finally admits. Champ’s eyes widen in surprise, but he doesn’t look mad or anything. 

“No wonder you two are all close now. So...Tharn knows, yes? You’re not cheating on him?” Champ asks slowly, Type shaking his head. 

“Of course not. Tharn knows and I guess the two of them are having problems deciding what to do with each other and he wanted a break away from the two of us-”   
  
“Woah, slow down,” Champ tries to soothe him a little bit. “Is that why he’s being all weird?”

Type nods. Champ opens his mouth to ask more questions, but gets interrupted. 

“Uh, you guys can leave. Everyone already left,” their professor says awkwardly, standing at the doorway. Type flushes a little, knowing that she just heard Type’s dilemma. She messes with the folder in her hands while the two boys mutter out apologies and make their way to the doorway. As the two of them nod to her, she taps Type. He turns his head to look at her. 

“You’ll be just fine. And he seems like a very nice boy, I saw you with him that one day, he takes good care of you,” she says to him, Type turning a darker shade of red, speechless.

“Thanks,” Type mutters after a couple of seconds, nodding again and grabbing Champ by the arm, leading him out of the department’s building. The two of them squint at the sudden brightness, standing outside of the door.

“So you’re just waiting for him to come to you?” Champ asks. Type grunts in agreement. “You think he feels that way for Tharn too?”

“Yeah. I kind of do,” Type says with no hesitation. “I’ve seen them together, I know.” 

Champ nods and the two stay silent. Type reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet, searching for money and pulling out a few bills. He grabs Champ’s arm and places it in his hand. 

“Call him, tell him you’re taking him out for dinner. That should cover both of you,” Type says, putting his wallet back in his pocket. “Tell him it’s from me, I just want him to eat properly, I don’t know if he’s taking care of himself.”

“You sure you don’t just want to come with?” Champ asks. “I know he wants to be alone, but he might be happy to see you.”

Type shakes his head.    
  
“I promised that I would let him sort things out on his own, I’m keeping that promise.”

Champ stares at him for a second.

"You know, you're a lot more open now that you've been with him," Champ points out. "Had I asked before, you would have just gotten mad."  


"Shut up."

\-----

Tharn is starting to feel the effects of Techno not being around. 

Since the break, even Type and Tharn have been pretty silent with each other. They try to engage in a conversation every time they’re together, but it always ends up ending quickly, the two men being too stressed and upset to try to keep it up. It usually ends up with them watching TV together silently or just going to bed after a long day. Even on their days off, they don’t talk much about anything. They try to focus on schoolwork, Tharn goes to band practice, Type works on things in the house, they try to keep themselves busy. 

Nonetheless, they both think about a lot of things, about Techno. One night, Tharn just can’t. In the middle of the football game that Type is trying to watch, Tharn pauses it. Type looks at him blankly. 

“I want you to know something, I think we need to talk about things,” Tharn says suddenly, pulling Type out of his thoughts. Type looks at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Just know that I love you very, very much. With all my heart. I’ll be really upset if Techno decides that this isn’t for him because I really want this to work out for all three of us, but I’m very much okay with staying with you and you only. I don’t want our relationship to end over this,” Tharn says, trying not to get emotional. Type starts to feel it too, his vision blurring a little. “He’d probably be sad if we broke up over it.” 

“We won’t,” Type chokes out. “I love you too and I hope that he thinks hard about what he wants. If it’s not us, it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere and I know you’re not either.” 

Tharn shakes his head and finally lets his emotions take over, tears spilling down his face. Type gets up wordlessly and crawls into his lap, looking directly at Tharn. He wipes Tharn’s cheeks with his sleeve and pecks him on the lips, putting his head into Tharn’s neck afterwards. 

“I have a good feeling about this, I just miss him,” Tharn whispers, sniffling. “I want this to be over.”

Type nods.   
  
"I love you," Type says again, gripping onto Tharn's shirt.

"I love you too, sweetheart," Tharn responds, rubbing his back. "We'll get through it, yeah?"

They hold each other and cry together, happy that they have someone to depend on in something like this. 

\-----

A few hours later, they finally get the call they’ve been waiting for. 

Type and Tharn cuddle pretty much every night and they love it, but Techno hasn’t joined them for almost two weeks and it’s starting to feel a little empty. Tharn is sleeping soundly when he is awakened by Type turning over in his sleep, his back now to Tharn. Tharn opens his eyes, half conscious, and rubs his boyfriend’s back soothingly. All of a sudden, Type reaches out for the pillow that’s in front of him, pulling it to his chest and kisses the top of it. Tharn raises an eyebrow and sits up slightly, seeing that Type is still asleep. Type nuzzles his face into it and sighs, then reaches behind him to grab Tharn’s hand so that it rests over Type and the pillow. 

“Tharn, he probably wants it too,” Type mumbles in his sleep. 

_ Ah. He thinks it’s him.  _

The sight makes Tharn’s chest ache, but it’s not because of jealousy. Tharn sits up completely and turns to his nightstand, picking his phone up and turning it on, sighing when he sees that it’s 3:56 in the morning. He goes to his conversation with Techno, noticing that the last time they talked was when Techno wanted advice for his date with Type. 

Tharn shakes his head and puts his phone back on the nightstand, thinking that will be the end of it, but is shocked when his phone buzzes about a minute later. He picks it back up, seeing that there’s a voice message.

From Techno.

He lowers the volume and puts it to his ear. 

“I’m sorry that I’m messaging you so late, I just took Champ back home. I’ve been thinking a lot and I want this. I want this. I want you both, I really do have feelings for you and Type. I’ve had a really hard time being away from you both. I keep imagining just being with Type and that’s great, but I need you, too. I’ve felt like this for a long time, I didn’t even realize. I’ll be there in the morning if you’re okay with that. Or in a few hours, I should say. I miss you guys a lot. Tell Type that I’ll be there. Are you ready to talk?”

Tharn pulls the phone away from his ear, staring at the button in shock. He just smiles softly at his phone

_ I’m ready, let’s do this. _

He starts typing, starting to write a message out. 

**Tharn: I’m ready when you are, Tech. Even if we don’t get to talking, at least come and see your boyfriend. He’ll be excited to see you.**

Type shifts and turns over, his eyes opening to see Tharn on his phone, sitting up. 

“What are you doing?” Type asks, barely conscious. 

“I was talking to Techno,” Tharn responds, running his fingers through Type’s hair. Type perks up at the sound of his name.

“What did he tell you?” Type questions. 

Tharn smiles, turning up the volume and playing the message that Techno recorded. Type smiles softly as well, relieved. Type pulls Tharn into a tight hug, the two of them smiling widely. Type pulls away and Tharn hands him the phone.

“Did you want to tell him something?”

\------

Techno can’t handle it, either. 

With nowhere to be, Techno is home all of the time. With nothing to do and his mind filled with irrational and confusing thoughts, the only things that Techno does is sleep, go to school, and do homework. He wouldn’t even do it if it didn’t distract him from everything going on for a few hours. His mom and Technic can only do so much, trying to encourage him to go out, but it never works. All Techno can do is try to work out what he's been thinking about for the past couple of weeks. 

The first time he actually goes out is a while after everything goes down when Champ actually gets him to go out for dinner, taking him to get barbeque and a beer. While Techno starts the meal stressed and not really enjoying himself, by the time they get their food, he’s smiling and laughing with Champ just like normal. 

_ I didn’t think I would enjoy this, but it’s nice to be out.  _

While Techno starts ranting about one of their professors during their meal, he feels a tap on his shoulder, jumping in surprise. When he looks up, he sees Fah and another woman next to her.

“I haven’t seen you in a minute,” Fah laughs. Techno smiles brightly, standing up to give her a hug. 

“I know, I’m happy to see you!” Techno exclaims. He pulls away and looks over at the woman next to her, reaching his hand out to shake her hand. “You look familiar, were you with Fah at the bar a while ago?”

“Yeah, I was in our little group, I remember seeing you with her. I’m Plan,” Plan says politely, shaking his hand.

_ Oh, this is that girl she likes. I forgot what she looked like, apparently.  _

Champ clears his throat, raising his eyebrow.

“Oh, sorry,” Techno laughs. “Champ, this is Fah and Plan, I met them at Jeed’s a while back. I text Fah a lot.”   


“Yeah, not enough, I haven’t gotten as many updates as I was hoping for,” Fah teases. Techno smile fades a little, but he tries to keep it up. Fah is quick to catch it, though.

“Oh, no. What happened?” Fah asks. Techno freezes, knowing that Champ doesn’t know anything about it yet. Champ takes the opportunity to speak, knowing what Techno is thinking.    
  
“Type already told me, I know. He was kind of upset,” Champ looks at Techno in the eyes as he says this and Techno can feel weight being lifted off of his shoulders. He feels a little guilty about his boyfriend being upset, though. “You girls can sit down if Techno wants to tell you.”

_ I’m glad Champ's not offended about us not telling him anything.  _

The three of them standing nod, all sitting down, Fah next to Techno and Plan next to Champ. Techno starts to explain his side of the story, talking about what he went through with Type and Tharn and what he’s been trying to think about for the past couple of weeks. Fah nods the whole time and listens intently. 

“Do you have feelings for Tharn?” Fah asks. 

“I’m starting to think that I do,” Techno nods. 

“So? What are you waiting for?” Fah puts a hand on his shoulder. “You’re already in their relationship.”

“I don’t even know, I’m really stressed out and I think I’m ready to talk, I’m just nervous. I want this to work out, I don’t want to be in their way. I’ve never been in something like this and they’re in love with each other, I came in out of nowhere. I’m just...having doubts. Champ, you’ve seen them together. You know that Tharn only tends to his wife and Type takes care of his hubby as much as he doesn’t want to admit it. You add me in the mix and it’s a little weird,” Techno says. Fah and Plan stay silent, but Champ is ready to talk.    
  
“I mean this in the most loving way, but you’re an idiot,” Champ says.

“What?” Techno asks. Champ scoffs and pulls out his wallet, throwing money onto the table. He puts the wallet back in this pocket, pointing at the bills. 

“That’s from Type. He wanted to pay for us because he wants to make sure that you’re eating well and that you’re taking care of yourself, he wanted me to take you out. You know why? He’s worried about you because you’ve been freaking out,” Champ says, putting his elbows on the table and leaning over a little. “Listen to me, you’ve seen the way that he is with Tharn and now he’s starting to take care of you in the same way, he’s just very gentle and sweet with you. You know that Tharn would do the same for you. From what you’ve told us just now, it sounds like the three of you would be just fine, they seem happy that you’re with them and I guarantee that they’ve told you that before. Don’t start being doubtful, you know that those two care about you more than anyone else.” 

Techno just stares at the money on the table. He pulls his phone out and sends a quick message to Type. 

**Techno: Thank you for the food, it was really good.**

He gets a response almost immediately.

**Type: Of course. Please take care of yourself.**

“What happened?” Champ asks. 

“I just thanked him for the meal and he told me to take care of myself,” Techno responds, smiling sadly. He pauses and smirks. “So I'm good? You think they care about me?"    
  
A mix of groans and “Jesus Christ” comes from the three people at the table and Techno chuckles. 

“I’ll call them later, then,” Techno smiles for real this time. 

“For the love of God, please do,” Plan finally chimes in. “You’re driving yourself crazy when you could be with them. I did it for so long with Fah, I just thought and thought and I wasted a lot of time. Just try with them at the very least, you guys are going to last a long time. They care about you very much.”

Plan says so much that Techno almost doesn’t catch part of her speech. His head tilts slowly to look at Fah, who turns a little pink. 

“Wait,” Techno says. He gestures to Plan. “Did you two finally figure things out?”

Fah and Plan look at each other and smile sheepishly. 

“Ohh my God,” Techno laughs. “See? I told you it would be fine, congratulations!”

“I’m kind of glad you said that, I was kind of thinking of asking for your number,” Champ mumbles under his breath, loud enough that they can hear him. Techno throws a straw wrapper at him.

“Please don’t hit on Plan,” Techno whines. Fah and Plan just giggle to themselves. Techno turns to Fah again. “But how dare you get mad at me for not updating you and then not tell me about your girlfriend. Shame on you.”

“How about this, if all is well with your boys, we’ll go on a double date with all five of us as an apology,” Fah smiles. “My treat.”   


Techno smiles back and leans back in his chair, feeling a lot more calm.

“Deal.”

\-----

The four of them end up at the bar after their meal, drinking until almost 3AM until the bartender comes to get them, telling them that it’s closing time. Techno takes it at a steady pace so that he’s able to drive home, only having a couple of drinks. Fah does the same. However, her girlfriend and Champ drink until they are super tipsy, Fah and Techno have to carry their people out the door. They say goodbye to each other and start loading them into their respective vehicles. 

Techno starts to drive Champ home when Champ starts coughing a little.

“I love you, but you cannot throw up in my car, I’ll murder you,” Techno grumbles. 

“Sorry,” Champ murmurs.

Techno ends up having to carry Champ up the stairs to his dorm, finally getting him into the room. Khunpol wakes up, obviously irritated by the noises. 

“What-”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I have to go talk to my boyfriends, I have to go. Just make sure he’s not dead in the morning, he’ll be fine. He can get his car tomorrow. Goodnight,” Techno rushes out, throwing Champ on the bed. 

“You better tell me how it goes, Tech. Go call them,” Champ slurs out, getting a thumbs up in response as Techno closes their door. 

He pauses. 

_ Boyfriends? Yikes. That one slipped out.  _

Techno makes his way back down the stairs again, standing outside of the dorm building to have a minute to himself. He takes out his phone and opens the conversation between him and Tharn, opening the voice option. He starts talking. 

“I’m sorry that I’m messaging you so late, I just took Champ back home. I’ve been thinking a lot and I want this. I want you both, I really do have feelings for you and Type. I’ve had a really hard time being away from you guys. I keep imagining just being with Type and that’s great, but I need you, too. I’ve felt like this for a long time, I didn’t even realize. I’ll be there in the morning if you’re okay with that. Or in a few hours, I should say. I miss you a lot. Tell Type that I’ll be there. Are you ready to talk?”

He sends it and gets back in his car, plopping into his seat and sighing. To his surprise, he gets a message from Tharn that makes him smile and then a voice message pops up underneath it. Techno turns up the volume. 

“You asshole. It’s 4, what are you doing up?” Type mumbles sleepily. Techno can’t stop smiling at the sound of his voice. 

“I’ve been worried about you. I wanted to give you space, but I also wanted to know if you’re eating well and taking care of yourself. If not, I’m going to yell at you and then we’re feeding you and cuddling. I hoped you liked the food tonight, though,” Type continues. Techno can hear a small giggle from Tharn in the background. 

All of a sudden, Type’s voice becomes a lot more sad. 

“I want to see you,” Type mumbles, starting to sound close to tears. “You know that we’ll do whatever we need to do to make this work.”

There’s some background noise before Tharn speaks again.

“You heard him. Whatever we need to do. But just come over for a little bit. You can come now if you want.” 

Techno’s vision starts to blur with the tears burning in his eyes. He wipes them away quickly. The recording ends and he thinks about it for 0.2 seconds before sending a text to his mom and Technic to let them know where he’ll be. He sends another to his boys. 

**Techno: I’ll be there in ten minutes.**

\------

Techno is there in five, knocking on the pair’s door ridiculously early in the morning. Type immediately opens the door, seeing a slightly emotional Techno at their door in full clothing, smelling of alcohol.

“Tech-”   


Type is interrupted by Techno embracing him tightly, burying his face in Type’s neck. The two of them exhale at the same time, Techno finally pulling away after a few moments. He leans in and gives Type a quick peck on his lips, then pulls him back into another hug. 

“I missed you guys,” Techno mumbles, Type hearing the sadness in his voice. 

“We missed you too,” Type rubs his back soothingly. The two pull away for a moment, looking at each other. They smile and rest their foreheads against one another, their eyes fluttering shut. Type can feel Techno rubbing his side and he feels at peace. They pull each other in again. 

“Hi,” Techno mumbles all of a sudden. 

Type opens his eyes and pulls away, noticing that Techno is looking behind him, so he turns around, seeing Tharn standing in the hallway. 

**_Things are going to get awkward again, aren’t they?_ **

To Type’s surprise, Tharn just smiles warmly and rushes over to Techno, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Hey,” Tharn whispers into his shoulder. Techno finally returns the embrace, holding Tharn close. Type joins the two boys, holding them close to him. Type kisses the top of both of their heads, putting his hand over both of them. They pull away to look at him as he walks back to the apartment door. 

“I’m going to leave you two alone, okay? Go talk,” Type reassures the two of them when they both try to tell him to come back. “Maybe go on a walk or something.”   
  
Type walks back into the apartment, leaving Techno and Tharn alone in the eerily quiet hallway. 

“It’s still kind of awkward,” Tharn chuckles. 

“Yeah, I agree,” Techno says, rubbing Tharn’s arm. Tharn seems happy with the affection. “But let’s do that, let’s go on a walk.”

“Okay,” Tharn responds. 

\-----

“I just really didn’t know, Tharn. I didn’t.”   
  
That’s the first thing that comes out of Techno's mouth when they’re outside of the apartment building. Tharn nods. The two of them make their way off of the steps and onto the sidewalk where the streetlights tower over them. Techno watches his shadow awkwardly as they walk, not wanting to make eye contact with Tharn while they have a conversation. They start going towards the grassy part of the building. 

“I know, Tech. And I’m sorry that I acted so quickly, I shouldn’t have done that. Especially if Type didn’t even know about it,” Tharn shakes his head at the memory, Techno sees it in his shadow. He finally looks up at Tharn and then to the yard in front of them. The two of them continue to make their way around the building, walking into an alley. 

“Apparently Type did know,” Techno snorts. Tharn smiles. 

“Yeah, he’s an observant little thing,” Tharn’s eyes look so full of love talking about Type, Techno can see it even while he’s looking in front of him. They continue to make their lap around for a minute until Techno breaks the silence. 

“Tharn,” Techno starts, getting a hum in response. “I’m not in the way, am I?”   
  
Tharn looks at him sadly, stopping. 

“Why are you asking me that?”   
  
“That’s another thing I was worried about,” Techno admits, standing in front of him. “I know you love Type, I can see it when you talk about him. And I know he loves you too, even if he won’t really talk about it. The whole thing with me was really sudden and I didn’t know if I was causing issues for the two of you-”   


“Hey,” Tharn starts petting his hair, Techno immediately silenced. “You’re worried about nothing. Of course you’re not in the way. Type and I talked about it and we really want you to be with us. It is up to you of course and you can say no, but we will be open to whatever you want. Even if it’s not with me and you just want to be with him, that’s perfectly fine.”

“No,” Techno whimpers. “I told you that on the phone, I want you both.”    
  
“I know, but I mean that,” Tharn explains. “If you decided you wanted that, we would be open to that. We care a lot about you, Tech. We want you to be happy and we will work out anything that we need to.” 

Techno starts to get a little overwhelmed at that, nodding silently with a tear coming down his face. He wipes it away quickly. 

“You think this will work?” Techno asks quietly. Tharn thinks about it for a second. 

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t,” Tharn responds. “Yes, it’s three of us, but it’s like any other relationship, we just have to balance it out. You take good care of us, it’ll be just fine. We’re happy to have you. Even if it didn’t, can you promise us that we’ll all be friends still?”   
  
“Of course we will,” Techno says, sniffing. “I would be kind of heartbroken if we didn’t.”

“Then...are you ready to make this official?” Tharn asks, his hand trailing down to Techno’s, brushing his thumb over the top of it. 

“Yes,” Techno says without any hesitation. “Absolutely.”

Tharn pulls Techno into another hug and the two of them cry softly together for a moment, but this time, they’re happy tears. Techno moves and wipes his face while Tharn does the same. Techno rises up onto his platforms to make his next action a little more comfortable and pulls Tharn’s head down into their first kiss, the two of them still feeling tears falling. They slowly brush their lips together for a few seconds before Techno pulls away and holds Tharn again. They chuckle softly and stand there for a moment. 

“We need to go back, I’m all gross,” Techno laughs, sniffing again. “I was with Champ at the bar, you know how that goes.”   
  
Tharn laughs as well.

“Let’s go back, you can go take a shower,” Tharn reassures him. He grabs Techno’s hand and leads them back around the building. 

\-----

Techno finally finishes his shower at around 5, his body relaxed and exhausted. When he comes out of the bathroom, his _boyfriends..._

_It feels good to say that._

...are on top of their bed waiting for him, both laying on their stomachs and facing the headboard while giggling with each other like kids. The two of them kiss each other while Techno makes his way over to the two of them, sitting on the opposite edge of the bed and drying his hair. The pair gave Techno some of Type's clothes to him to wear to bed, which make him look tiny since he's smaller than Type. When he sits down, they look behind them and sit up, going to sit next to Techno. Type coos at him.   
  
"You're so small," Type says, giggling. Techno glares at him. 

"You're mean to me," Techno says, starting to smile at the teasing. Tharn comes up behind him and rubs his back, Techno starting to lean on him. Type smiles at them.

"So we're good now, right? And we promise to communicate and be good with each other, yes?" Type asks, the other two men nodding. "Do we need to make a schedule for you to be here, Tech?"  
  
Techno laughs. 

"You know what, maybe," Techno says. "I just have to tell Mom so she doesn't think I'm dead somewhere."

"What do you usually tell her?" Tharn asks.

"I told her that I went to Type's house, but I kind of told her about you guys and she's fine with it, so," Techno looks up at Tharn. Tharn smiles.

"One parent down. My parents will be fine. Type..." Tharn trails off, chuckling a little bit.

"My father couldn't handle one man. Two men? Heart attack," Type starts laughing as well, shaking his head. He pinches Techno's cheek. "Mom will absolutely adore him."

Techno feels warm at the idea of them being in a relationship long enough that they start introducing each other to their parents. 

_I know we just got in this, but it's a nice thought. I know Mom will love Tharn._

"What about our friends? I have no idea what we're going to say to them," Tharn says. "They won't be mad, but it'll be hard to explain."

"I don't know, I just gave Champ a rundown and he knew what was going on, not a lot of questions asked," Type responds. "I was kind of shocked."

"He's not a judgmental person," Techno adds, yawning. Type nods in agreement. They all sit in comfortable silence for a little bit until, out of nowhere, Tharn leans down to kiss Techno's neck, which is meant to be a sweet gesture. At the contact, Techno moans softly, which makes it not a sweet gesture. Tharn and Type look at him with wide eyes.

"Sorry, you can't do that, my neck is super sensitive," Techno mumbles, turning a light shade of red. Tharn apologizes and just holds him close, enjoying the closeness. Type looks like he's gone.

"Type?" Techno asks, touching his hand. 

"Can you do it again?" Type asks the two of them. Tharn pauses for a second and looks down at Techno, asking for permission. Techno nods and tilts his head. Tharn starts kissing from the back of his nape to the side of his neck, nipping at the skin softly, not trying to hurt him. Techno lets out small sounds of pleasure, reaching back to touch Tharn's neck as well. Type just sits and watches for a second before crawling towards him and doing the same on the other side, biting and leaving love marks on the sensitive skin. It only makes Techno get louder. He tries to keep it down, but he's been thinking about this for a while and it's a lot at once. 

“Baby,” Tharn mumbles to Techno, placing one last kiss on his neck before sitting up to look at him. “Do you want us to stop? We don’t have to keep going, it might be a little too soon for us to start doing this."

Techno’s mind can’t catch up for a second since Type is still going, but when it does, he shakes his head.

"I trust you two," Techno says.

"Lay down, then. Okay?" Tharn asks. Techno nods and leans up against the headboard, letting Tharn straddle one of his legs. He pulls  Tharn into a light but searing kiss that leaves the two of them a little lightheaded. In the middle of it, Techno reaches to where he thinks Type is, patting around and finding Type’s shoulder while his eyes are still closed. He reaches up to Type’s face and brushes his cheekbone, finally pulling away from Tharn to open his eyes and look at him. Type’s eyes are a little unfocused, like he’s lost in thought, and he looks relaxed, leaning into Techno’s hand. Techno can’t really blame him, it’s really overwhelming. The two of them give each other a small smile while Tharn goes back to Techno’s neck. 

“You wanna…” Tharn speaks to Type, gesturing to Techno. This seems to pull him out of his head a little, looking more focused on the task at hand. 

“Yeah,” Type mumbles. Type lifts the hand off of his face, taking it and kissing Techno’s wrist, making his way up his arm. Techno watches in awe as he continues up his shoulder while taking off his own shirt in the process. Type finally makes it to his cheek, starting to go down to his mouth. The two brush their lips together for a few moments until Type pulls away, leaning his forehead against Techno’s.

“I’m so lucky,” Type says against Techno’s mouth, grinning. He turns his head and leans down to kiss Tharn on the forehead. Techno can feel Tharn smile. “I got my two favorite people.”

Techno smiles back and tries to ignore the burning of tears in his eyes.    


_ He’s so much more honest doing things like this.  _

“You want more?” Type asks, kissing Techno’s cheek again. Techno nods and feels a couple of hands go up his shirt, Type dipping down to start making marks on his chest and stomach.

“We need words, love,” Type says.

“Please,” Techno whimpers. 

Another starts working on taking his pants off. 

“Relax, we’ve got you,” Tharn whispers. 

The next hour is just for the three of them.

\-----

Type wakes up to the sound of clattering pans coming from the kitchen and a tiny “oops” coming from the person causing the noise. When he finally has the motivation to open his eyes, he turns his head to see that the sun is shining out of their window and the clock reads 8. He sighs and rubs his face, sitting up to find that Tharn is still sleeping soundly in their bed, but Techno is nowhere to be found. Clothes are scattered around the room and all of the irritation he feels from being woken up fades away quickly as he remembers the past evening, smirking to himself. 

**_If I wasn’t in love before, I sure am now._ **

Type gets up and picks up a pair of random jeans (probably Tharn's, he can’t tell) and his shirt off of the floor, putting them on quickly and walking to the kitchen. Here, he finds Techno leaning against the counter in the pair of clothes that Tharn and Type put on him, rolling out his neck.

“Hey,” Type greets him, causing Techno to jump and yelp. He exhales in relief when he sees Type. Type laughs. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I just heard you and didn’t know if you were having an issue.”

“No, I was trying to get a pot and some things fell, but I already got it. I just want tea. Sorry,” Techno gestures to the pot on the stove, the water in it barely warm. There’s also an empty cup on the counter with a tea bag in it. Type nods and Techno jumps up to sit next to the cup, wincing a little as he settles onto it. 

“Sore?” Type smirks, reaching up to brush the hair out of Techno’s eyes. Techno breathes out a laugh. 

“Not as much as I was expecting, I’m fine,” Techno fiddles with his hands, smiling. 

“First time I did this with Tharn, it hurt like a bitch. I couldn’t move. I’m glad he was gentle with you,” Type snickers, Techno following. Type’s smile fades a little as he tilts his head to look at Techno’s neck. Type pushes his head up gently, looking at his neck which is covered in different colored hickeys. Type cringes. 

“Damn, I didn’t really look at them, I was kind of...distracted,” Type continues to look at him, then grabs the bottom of Techno’s shirt, silently asking for permission to lift it and Techno nods. Type lifts the shirt all the way off, finding a couple of bruises on his stomach, but nothing dramatic. Nonetheless, Type feels kind of bad. “I’m sorry, we got carried away. You’re not hurting, are you?”

“No, no. Hey,” Techno rushes out, putting a hand on Type’s face to make eye contact. “I’m okay, I’m not in any pain except for my back. It was perfect.”

Type relaxes a little bit and tries to hug Techno from the awkward angle that the two of them are in, finally getting comfortable. 

“Are you okay?” Techno asks, petting Type’s hair to soothe him a little more. Type just nods against his shirt. Techno continues. “Thank you for everything tonight, you two really took care of me.”

Type feels warm. Techno looks down, seeing the blush on his cheeks.

“You’re turning red,” Techno giggles.

“Shut up,” Type says, laughing as well. He pulls away and puts a hand on Techno’s thigh while the two of them stare at the water that’s finally starting to boil. “But thank you too, it was perfect, you were perfect. And I think Tharn really liked it.”

“You called?” Tharn asks, poking his head into the kitchen and startling the two boys, both of them making a noise out of surprise. Type glares at him and he raises his hands in defense. “Sorry. How are you feeling, Tech?”

“I’m great,” Techno smiles, getting another smile in response from Tharn. Tharn walks to him and gently pulls him down for a quick kiss. He turns to Type and kisses him as well, seeing the cup and the pot.

“I’ll pour it for you,” Tharn says, turning the stove off and picking up the cup, pouring the water into it and handing it to Techno. He places the pot back on the stove.    
  
“Thank you,” Techno mumbles, dipping his tea bag in and out of it. Tharn pulls a phone out of his pocket, handing it to Techno.

"You might want to check that, it kind of woke me up," Tharn says. Techno cringes. 

"Sorry, I usually have it on silent, but I guess I didn't," Techno says, turning it on. 

**MISSED CALL (3): Champ**

**MISSED CALL (1): Fah**

**Champ: 7 MESSAGES**

**Fah: 3 MESSAGES**

"Oh, Lord," Techno laughs to himself. The boys raise their eyebrows at him. He starts to explain. "I was kind of worried about how this was going to go, so I went out with Champ and found a friend of mine. They wanted to know how it went."  
  
"Ah," Tharn says, leaning over to look at Techno's screen.

"Oh, and I got invited to a double date, if you guys want to go," Techno smirks at both of them, Tharn and Type both nodding.

"Yeah, with who?" Type asks. 

"My friend Fah and her girlfriend," Techno says.

"Aww. Yeah, we'll go," Tharn responds. "Now, are we going back to sleep or should I make some breakfast?"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not, finish your tea and then we're cuddling until noon," Type says to Techno, walking out of the kitchen. Tharn snorts and shakes his head. 

"You heard the man, let's go," Tharn follows Type out of the door. Techno sits on the counter and calmly sips his tea while turning his phone off completely. 

_I could get used to this._

\-----

A couple of days later, Fah posted a photo of the five of them on Instagram. 

**therealfah: took these three boys and my lovely lady out on a double date to celebrate our successes over the past few months. they know how to drain my bank account, but i love them. i wish these three the best in their adventures together. <3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twitter: cookys_eyebrows
> 
> I made a slight mistake with something in earlier chapters that I tried to dismiss in here, maybe someone will catch it lmaoo  
> (Hint: it has to do with names!)


	9. EXTRAS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t seen a lot of authors do this before, but I wanted to include a couple of things that didn’t make the story and the very vague outline I had made before I got to chapter 2. I think it’s kind of amazing how different it is compared to what was actually put into it.

Chapter scrap:

Just as Type starts walking, Techno’s phone dings. He turns it over.

**Tharn: Are we still on for tonight?**

Techno leans his head against his phone and groans. Champ looks at him, but disregards it. He starts typing.

_ I guess I’m doing this. _

**Techno: Yeah, just meet me in front of my house when you’re done with practice.**

**Tharn: Sounds good.**

\------   
  


“I don’t really know what to tell you other than everything is okay,” Tharn mumbles.

_ Why is he acting weird? _ _   
_ _   
_ “Are you mad at me?” Techno fearfully asks.

Tharn is silent for a moment.

“No, I’m just kind of surprised,” Tharn finally responds. “How long?”

“Probably since I met him.”   


Tharn hums in acknowledgement.

_ Something’s wrong. But he says that he’s not mad. What is he thinking? _ _   
_ _   
_ “Are you sure everything’s fine? This isn’t going to be a problem?” Techno asks.

Tharn finally gets out a question that Techno knows he’s been holding in.

“Are you going to tell him?” Tharn blurts out. Techno blinks.

“I...wasn’t planning on it,” Techno says. “You two are together, he doesn’t need to know about it.”

Tharn just stares ahead.

“Was that it?” Tharn looks at Techno like he’s annoyed. 

“I thought you told me that you weren’t mad,” Techno says.

“I’m not, I’m asking you if that’s all you had to tell me.”   


_ I think I really messed up. _

“Yeah.”

Tharn nods and starts the car.

“I’ll take you back home,” Tharn mumbles and starts driving. The two of them don’t talk the whole way back.

\----

When Tharn gets home, he slams the door and tosses his bag on the floor in some random place, not noticing a very confused and concerned Type sitting on the bed typing on his computer. Tharn looks up.

“Hello to you too. Jesus,” Type’s eyebrows furrow. Tharn notices that he’s glaring too without even knowing and his face relaxes. “Rough practice?”

“I’m sorry,” Tharn mumbles, joining him on the bed, taking his shoes off. That’s when Type closes the laptop. Tharn feels a hand on his back and Type scoots next to him. 

“You want to talk?” Type asks. Tharn weighs his options a little.

That night, Type sits in his car outside Techno’s house, remembering everything over the past couple of weeks. The crying, the small comments, the looks that Techno gives that show that he’s going through things. He takes a deep breath before pulling his phone out.

**Type: Come out here.**

**Techno: What do you mean?**

**Type: I’m outside.**

Type waits for a minute before he sees a baffled Techno run out of the gate, giving him a questioning look. He goes to the driver’s side before Type rolls down the window.

“What are you doing here?” Techno questions.

Type stares at him for a second, then turns forward, not making eye contact with Techno.

“Just get in,” Type mumbles. 

“Why?”   


“You going to or not?”

Techno bites his lip and sighs, walking to the passenger’s side. He opens the door and quietly sits in the car. He looks at Type, expecting him to explain. Type finally looks at him.

“I want you to talk to me,” Type says, putting the car into reverse and looking behind him. Techno groans.

“I told you that I would explain it later, I can’t tell you right now.”   


“I know, Tech.”   
  
“Then why are you wanting to talk?”   


“That’s not what I mean,” Type says. “Let’s just go somewhere, okay?”

Techno looks anxious, his eyes wide. He nods and relaxes on the back of the chair.

\-----

Tharn and Type sit on the floor around the coffee table, Techno still lightly snoring in their shared bed. Type leans over, holding his stomach, his head resting on the table. He sighs. Tharn rests his hand on his neck, massaging it lightly. Type exhales again, this time out of pleasure.

“That’s nice,” Type mumbles. He finally sits up, glancing over at Tharn. He gets a tender look in response. 

“Nauseous?”

“Mhm,” Type hums, sitting up. 

“Type,” Tharn whispers. “What are you thinking about?”   
  
Type finally lets down his walls a little.

“It’s happening and it’s a lot and I’m not really sure what to feel right now,” Type starts to ramble, his eyes darting back and forth between Tharn and the carpet below them. 

“We don’t have to do this now,” Tharn takes the hand on his neck and places it on his hand, Type squeezing back lightly. 

\----

CHAPTER 8:

_ I wish Type was here to- _

“THARN! TECHNO!”

The two startled men push each other away, looking at the source of sudden screaming. Champ stands about 20 feet away from them, Type by his side. Type is absolutely beaming at the sight, grinning and looking at the two men with so much love in his eyes. Techno and Tharn smile back. Type is so distracted that he doesn’t notice Champ rushing over to them, fuming.    
  
“Oh, shit,” Techno mutters, grabbing Tharn’s hand and pulling him up. “Run! Go to the other side!”

Tharn is so shocked that he just follows Techno’s direction, both of them splitting up. Techno can hear Type’s faint laughter. 

“Champ! They’re fine!” Type laughs so hard that he has to bend over, his hands on his knees. He finally takes a deep breath and stands up straight, seeing that the two of them are already gone. He can’t keep the smile off of his face. 

**_My boys._ **

Champ pulls Type out of his little trance, grabbing his shoulders. 

“Fine, my ass! Did you see them?!” Champ is still super pissed, shaking Type as he speaks. Type finally puts it together. 

“Oh.” 

\-----

“Oooookay,” Champ mutters, putting his hands over his face. “I think I understand?”

“You don’t sound so sure.”

“So. You’re all...you know, ” Champ mumbles. The three of them raise an eyebrow in confusion. All Champ has to do is make a slightly obscene gesture with his hands before Techno chokes on his water, turning a deep shade of red while covering his mouth and putting his other hand on top of Champ’s to get it to stop. Type stays silent, eyes wide and darting from the table to Tharn. Tharn just laughs and pats Techno’s back.   


“Type and I? Yeah,” Tharn says, getting a shocked “Tharn” from his boyfriends in return. “But we haven’t…” 

Tharn trails off, gesturing to Techno, the two of them making eye contact. Tharn just stares at him. 

_ Do you…? _

Tharn doesn’t even have to say anything, Techno just blushes more, putting his head down on the table. 

Pre-Writing outline:

  1. start with flashbacks from the show (chp. 1)
  2. techno spacing out and canteen scene
  3. flashback to techno talking to tharn
  4. present day, techno and tharn go to the bar (chp. 2)
  5. tharn laying in bed with type, feels and crying(?)
  6. meal with tharn, type, and techno, techno realizes feelings for tharn as well (chp, 3)
  7. techno gets drunk and talks to type at a party (chp. 4)
  8. type comes home upset and tells tharn what happened, conversation (chp 5)
  9. they invite a sad techno to come eat with them (chp 6)
  10. Kisses!
  11. Poly things, fluff



**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: cookys_eyebrows
> 
> Instagram: litebrite_21


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